iiighter  of 
o  Worlds 


LEROY  SCOTT 


.    OF  fTAT.Tp.    T,T^ApY. 


•£& 

A  DAUGHTER^ 

OF 

TWO  WORLDS 

A   NOVEL  of  NEW  YORK  LIFE 
BY  LEROY  SCOTT 


INTERNATIONAL  FICTION  LIBRARY 
CLEVELAND,  O.  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


Copyright,  MCMXVIII 

and 
MCMXIX  by  International  Magazine  Co. 

Copyright,  MCMXIX  by 
Leroy  Scott 

All  Rights  Reserved 


Printtd  in  tit  United  States  of  Amtrica 

by 

THE  COMMERCIAL  BOOKBINDING  CO. 
CLEVELAND,  O 


A  DAUGHTER 
OF  TWO  WORLDS 


A  DAUGHTER 
OF  TWO  WORLDS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  GARDEN  WHERE  JENNIE  GREW 

LIFE'S  histories  do  not  begin  at  some  definite 
point,  before  which  there  was  nothing,  and  after 
which  there  is  everything.  Their  beginnings 
reach  back  through  years  and  generations  and  through 
the  conditions  which  have  helped  twist  or  nourish  or 
gloriously  develop  them.  But  since  histories  must  start 
somewhere,  this  history  of  Jennie  Malone,  and  of  her 
strange  father  Black  Jerry,  and  of  the  three  men  who 
loved  her,  and  of  the  half-dozen  or  more  other  persons 
who  vitally  influenced  her  ambitions  and  her  soul  — 
this  history  may  be  started,  perhaps  somewhat  arbi- 
trarily, on  a  certain  night  early  in  October  in  the  Pekin 
Caf6.  For  the  Pekin  had  been  Jennie's  environment 
since  her  early  childhood ;  its  habitues,  many  her  friends, 
had  all  been  familiar  figures  to  her;  and  upon  such  scenes 
as  this  evening's  she  had  peeped  almost  nightly. 

On  that  October  evening,  in  the  little  office  at  the  rear 
of  the  smoke-fogged,  orchestra- inspirited  cafe,  sat  two 
men,  a  bottle  of  imported  mineral  water  between  them. 
One  was  deep  of  chest  and  of  powerful  width  of  shoul- 
ders, and  had  a  square,  grim  face,  with  that  stippled  dusk- 
iness which  the  closest  shaving  cannot  expunge  from 
dark  and  heavily  bearded  skins.  It  was  that  swarthy 

2132661' 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


skin,  together  with  his  shining  ebon  hair  (forty  had  now 
marked  it  with  a  few  lines  of  gray),  which,  long  ago,  in 
this  quarter  where  every  one  who  deviated  from  the 
average  was  tagged  with  his  outstanding  characteristic, 
had  caused  him  to  be  rechristened  "Black  Jerry." 

The  other  was  as  bland  and  open  of  manner  as  Jerry 
was  grim  and  reticent.  He  was  of  indefinite  age  —  sixty 
might  be  near  the  middle  of  one's  guesses.  Beneath 
eyes  and  jaw  were  deflated  pouches,  suggesting  bulkier 
days  when  an  unprotesting  stomach  had  permitted  a 
generous  eating  of  all  good  things  of  the  earth.  His  few 
short  gray  hairs  were  parted  exactly  in  the  middle;  of 
eyebrows  he  had  none  at  all,  of  eyelashes  almost  none. 
His  gray  eyes  were  genial,  bland,  shrewd  —  infinitely 
wise  and  sophisticated  and  resourceful.  Among  his 
friends  he  was  known  as  "Uncle  George,"  though  by 
blood  or  law  he  was  uncle  to  none.  At  present  he  was 
out  of  his  habitat;  rarely  in  these,  his  more  mellow  years, 
did  he  wander  below  Fourteenth  Street,  except  as  now 
to  visit  Black  Jerry.  Some  thirty  or  forty  blocks  up- 
town, in  the  territory  where  stood  the  smartest  res- 
taurants of  Broadway,  and  the  seemingly  more  proper 
but  really  very  similar  hotels  along  Fifth  Avenue  — 
that  was  Uncle  George's  home  country. 

Just  now  Jerry's  face  had  relaxed  somewhat  of  its 
grim  control,  for  Jerry  was  in  the  company  of  a  proved 
and  trusted  friend.  But  the  relaxation  was  only  partial. 
The  habit  of  reticence  and  self-containment  was  so 
strong  upon  Jerry  that  he  could  not  really  let  himself 
go  even  with  such  a  friend  as  Uncle  George. 

"Now,  see  here,  Jerry,  what 's  worrying  you?  "  insisted 
the  older  man. 

"Nothing  worth  talking  about,  Uncle  George." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  ,3 

"That's  what  you  said  before,"  returned  Uncle 
George  in  a  dry,  drawling  voice,  but  with  a  keen  look 
at  the  other  from  his  old  eyes.  "But,  excuse  me,  Jerry 
—  I  may  be  too  wise  a  guy,  and  like  the  top  side  of  the 
earth's  crust  too  well,  to  call  you  a  liar  —  but  words  to 
that  effect  are  what  some  more  reckless  party,  who  had 
no  proper  regard  for  his  beauty  in  the  place  where  it 
last  was,  might  in  a  thoughtless  moment  try  to  say  to 
you.  But,  Jerry,  I  'd  be  publicly  insulting  my  own  in- 
telligence if  I  did  n't  mildly  slip  }/ou  a  hint  that  that 
bunk  don't  go  with  me.  Something's  worrying  you, 
and  worrying  you  big  —  or  you  would  n't  look  like 
you  do." 

Uncle  George  might  at  times  be  cunning,  even  shifty, 
but  just  now  all  his  impulses  were  kindly.  "Come  on, 
Jerry,  get  it  off  your  chest.  Mebbe  I  can  help  you  out. 
I  saw  Casey  leave  as  I  came  in.  Did  that  plain-clothes 
copper  have  anything  to  do  with  this  smile  of  yours  that 
won't  come  on?" 

"Casey  did  try  to  throw  it  into  me,"  admitted  Black 
Jerry.  "But  I  did  n't  let  him  get  away  with  anything." 

"Casey's  a  pretty  square  guy  —  for  a  copper." 

"Oh,  Casey's  square  enough." 

"What  did  he  want?  —  if  you  don't  mind  telling  me." 

"I  don't  mind  telling  you  about  Casey,"  returned 
Jerry  in  his  heavy  voice  that  seemed  to  have  its  origin 
in  sub-diaphragmal  regions.  "Casey  comes  in  about  a 
guy  named  Morrison.  Five  or  six  weeks  ago  this  Morri- 
son blows  in  here,  already  carrying  a  lot  of  booze,  with 
a  party  of  friends.  He  orders  the  best  eats  and  drinks 
in  the  house;  he's  short  of  dough,  and  asks  me  to  cash 
a  check  for  fifty.  I  feel  he's  safe  and  I  cash  it,  and  it 
goes  through  the  bank  all  right.  While  he 's  here,  being 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


already  stewed  he  loses  his  check-book.  But  it 's  found 
and  give  back  before  he  leaves." 

"And  that's  all  you  know  about  it?" 

"That's  all  I  knew  till  Casey  shows  up  to-night. 
Casey  says  this  Morrison  has  made  a  holler  about  a 
forged  check  —  not  the  check  he  give  me,  but  another 
check  for  twenty-five.  Morrison  did  n't  discover  the 
forgery  until  he  got  his  canceled  checks  from  the  bank 
the  other  day.  Casey  says  he's  gone  over  Morrison's 
talk  and  all  the  evidence.  Casey  says  he 's  handing  it  to 
me  straight,  and  he  says  there  ain't  no  doubt  that  the 
forged  check  came  out  of  Morrison's  pocket  check-book; 
no  doubt  that  it  was  torn  out  by  some  one  while  his 
check-book  was  lost  in  my  place ;  and  Casey  says  there 's 
no  doubt  it  was  forged  by  copying  from  the  good  check 
which  I  had  in  my  cash  drawer.  So  Casey  tells  me 
straight  out  that  the  trick  was  turned  by  some  one  in 
my  place,  and  he  orders  me  to  come  across  and  help  him 
grab  the  guy  that  done  it." 

"Does  he  think  you  wrote  the  check,  Jerry?" 

"  Naw! "  with  a  growl  of  contempt.  "  I'm  no  good  with 
the  pen,  and  Casey  knows  it!  Besides,  if  I  did  go  into 
a  crooked  deal,  it  would  n't  be  for  no  such  piker's  stake 
as  twenty-five!" 

"  But  even  if  you  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  would  n't 
it  be  better  for  you  to  square  the  sucker  by  slipping  him 
back  the  twenty-five?" 

"That's  what  I  offered  to  Casey."  Black  Jerry  was 
meditatively  silent  for  a  moment.  "What  I  'm  wonder- 
ing about  is,  who  wrote  that  check?" 

"Plenty  of  clever  crooks  hang  out  in  your  joint, 
Jerry,"  suggested  Uncle  George. 

"But  which  one  of  them  was  clever  enough  to  get 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


hold  of  that  good  check  to  copy  from?  —  that  good 
check  being  in  my  cash  drawer.  That 's  what 's  got  me 
guessing,  Uncle  George.  Casey's  coming  in  to  see  me 
about  it  again  in  an  hour." 

He  was  grimly  composed  again.  ' '  It  'd  be  a  little  thing 
for  anybody  else,  but  it's  damned  serious  for  me.  With 
the  police  watching  for  a  chance  to  fall  on  me,  I  can't 
afford  to  have  anything  crooked  happen  in  my  joint." 

"It  does  have  a  nasty  look,  Jerry  —  considering 
your  situation." 

For  a  moment  Jerry's  gleaming  eyes  were  fixed  on 
the  old  face  of  Uncle  George.  Then  he  remarked 
abruptly : 

"But  that  phony  check  —  that's  the  least  of  my 
worries." 

"Then  what  is  the  matter  with  you?"  exclaimed 
Uncle  George,  staring. 

But  Jerry,  as  though  he  had  not  heard  the  question, 
stood  up.  "Excuse  me  —  guess  I  'd  better  have  a  look 
at  what's  doing  outside.  I  '11  be  back  in  a  few  minutes." 

Uncle  George  gazed  searchingly  at  the  face  of  the 
man  who,  in  an  earlier  day,  had  been  the  theme  of 
acres  of  reporters'  romancing  —  romances  which  had 
resulted  in  his  being  still  remembered,  though  somewhat 
vaguely,  as  a  grisly  name  that  once  upon  a  time  had 
done  something  (just  what  was  perhaps  forgotten)  which 
was  brutally  tragic.  Uncle  George,  wise  old  worldling, 
thought  he  understood  Jerry;  believed  he  knew  what 
ideas,  what  impulses,  what  passions  existed  behind 
that  dark,  taciturn  surface  which  was  shown  the  world. 
But  sometimes  Uncle  George  was  not  at  all  certain,  and 
he  wondered  —  just  as  he  now  sat  wondering  as  Jerry 
stepped  out  of  the  office. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


A  pair  of  screens  shut  off  the  little  office,  and  also  a 
side  door  opening  on  a  hallway,  from  the  dining-room, 
and  behind  these  screens  Jerry  paused  and  glanced 
through.  The  Pekin  was  doing  good  business  that 
night,  as  in  fact  it  did  almost  every  night.  The  dining- 
room  was  large  and  low-ceilinged,  with  rows  of  iron- 
topped  tables  barren  of  napery,  with  sawdust-covered 
floor,  with  a  cleared  central  area  where  at  this  moment 
a  lithe  young  man  in  evening  clothes  and  his  showily 
dressed  partner  were  whirling  about  in  a  bewildering 
dance  —  for  this  was  years  ago  at  about  the  time  the 
cabaret,  and  the  tango  and  its  coeval  dances,  were  mov- 
ing uptown  to  their  period  of  prosperity  and  popularity. 
At  the  tables  nearest  Black  Jerry  sat  the  passengers  of 
a  "rubber-neck  wagon,"  captained  by  a  guide  who  knew 
everything  about  the  world  and  who  was  communicat- 
ing his  information  by  use  of  smirking  innuendo  in  order 
that  his  charges  might  likewise  know  everything  and 
yet  not  have  their  refined  ears  befouled  by  the  direct 
word.  At  other  iron- topped  tables  sat  men  and  women 
—  but  mostly  men  —  of  a  different  sort ;  theirs  was  the 
air  of  belonging  here ;  they  glanced  up  casually  at  these 
invaders,  smiled  at  each  other,  and  spoke  in  low  voices, 
and  returned  to  their  food  and  drink.  But  the  cargo  of 
the  sight-seeing  coach  gazed  about  with  all  the  deli- 
cious stirring  of  horror  for  which  they  had  been  pre- 
pared and  for  which  they  had  come. 

The  guide  had  just  begun  his  "spiel,"  and  Jerry,  at 
his  back,  could  but  overhear  it  all.  "Well,  here  you  are," 
the  shepherd  was  saying  to  his  flock  in  that  suppressed 
and  guarded  whisper  which  so  heightens  the  effect  of 
recitals  that  have  to  do  with  horror  and  naughtiness  — 
"here  vou  are  in  the  joint  of  Black  Jerry  Malone  — 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


perhaps  the  toughest  joint  of  its  sort  in  town.  You  all 
know  about  Black  Jerry —  his  big  trial  ten  years  ago 
—  how  he  barely  beat  his  case  —  one  of  the  most  no- 
torious men  in  New  York.  .  .  .  And  these  people  at  the 
other  tables,  they  're  mostly  crooks  of  one  sort  or  another 
—  burglars,  cracksmen,  pickpockets,  confidence  men, 
and  I  won't  offend  you  by  telling  you  what  the  women 
are.  .  .  .  And  Black  Jerry  has  a  daughter,  pretty  and 
smart  —  Jennie 's  her  name.  Wish  I  could  show  her  to 
you;  she  and  her  father  have  an  apartment  upstairs. 
If  you  could  see  her  and  Black  Jerry  together,  you  'd 
certainly  say,  Heavens,  what  a  pair!" 

The  guide  became  more  serious.  Professional  experi- 
ence had  taught  him  that  a  bit  of  philosophy,  with  a 
touch  of  sentiment,  was  always  effective  with  these 
good  people  from  out  of  town. 

"I'm  not  one  of  these  here  sociology  men,"  he  went 
on,  "but  did  you  ever  think  what  must  become  of  all 
the  children  of  criminals?  —  children  who  are  born  in 
this  sort  of  surroundings  and  never  know  anything 
else?  And  there  are  millions  of  them!  Ever  think 
whether  their  parents  can  really  care  for  'em?  —  and  if 
so,  how?  Ever  think  what  such  children  grow  up  to  be? 
Something  big  to  think  about  there,  you  bet!  It's  sure 
got  me  guessing!" 

The  sight-seers  nodded  excitedly ;  it  was  indeed  some- 
thing big  to  think  about,  and  it  had  them  guessing, 
too.  From  behind  the  screens  Black  Jerry  stared  keenly, 
suspiciously,  at  the  guide.  The  mouthing  of  that  gentle- 
man seemed  to  Jerry  to  be  uncanny.  It  was  as  though 
the  guide  had  stolen  into  the  secret  places  of  his  own 
heart  and  mind,  places  which  he  had  not  yet  even 
explored. 


8  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Presently  he  became  aware  that  the  hall  door  just 
behind  him  was  being  gently  opened.  He  stepped 
quickly  to  one  side,  keeping  behind  the  door.  There 
slipped  in  a  slender  girl  of  perhaps  sixteen.  She  peeped 
cautiously  through  the  door  of  the  office  Jerry  had  just 
left.  Then  she  peered  through  the  space  between  the 
screens  and  rapidly  surveyed  the  interior  of  the  cafe. 
Excitement  was  flushing  her  face,  and  she  was  reaching 
out  a  hand  to  part  the  screens,  when  Jerry  whispered 
sharply : 

"Jennie!" 

She  whirled  about.   "Dad ! " 

She  was  even  then  pretty,  more  than  pretty  — 
though  not  as  pretty  as  she  was  later  to  be  —  with 
dusky  skin  and  dark  hair,  and  eyes  of  gleaming  black- 
ness. Her  grace  and  lightness  of  figure  she  certainly 
could  have  had  only  from  her  mother;  but  in  her 
rounded  face  there  were  hints  of  qualities  that  might  be 
derivations  from  her  father. 

"What  are  you  doing  down  here?"  demanded  Black 
Jerry. 

' '  Aunt  sent  me  to  get  two  dollars  for  the  washwoman.' ' 

Jerry  did  not  speak  his  unbelief.  He  handed  her  the 
sum  requested,  and  pointed  at  the  door  through  which 
she  had  entered. 

"Tell  your  aunt,  when  she  wants  any  money,  to  wait 
till  I  come  upstairs  —  or  to  come  down  for  it  her- 
self. You  better  remember  what  I  told  you :  you  're  to 
keep  out  of  here." 

"All  right,  dad"  —and  the  girl  slipped  through  the 
door. 

Black  Jerry  gazed  after  her  with  narrowed  eyes  as 
she  mounted  the  stairway ;  then  he  closed  the  door,  and 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


resumed  his  survey  through  the  screens.  The  lithe  young 
man  and  his  showily  dressed  partner  had  finished  their 
exhibition  number,  and  couples  from  the  tables  were 
making  for  the  central  open  space.  The  lithe  young  man 
crossed  to  the  tables  where  sat  the  sight-seeing  group, 
and  in  a  manner  which  was  an  effective  blend  of  audacity 
and  deference,  was  inviting  a  young  woman  of  the  party 
to  dance.  She  drew  back,  startled,  but  then  was  caught 
by  the  spirit  of  adventure,  and  rose  and  gave  herself 
to  his  arms.  Jerry's  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  pair  every 
instant;  and  when,  the  dance  ended,  the  young  man 
was  bowing  his  partner  into  her  chair,  Jerry,  without 
appearance  of  having  hurried,  was  instantly  through 
the  screen  and  was  slipping  a  hand  through  the  young 
man's  arm. 

"Want  a  word  with  you,  Slim,"  he  said,  and  led  the 
other  into  his  little  office  and  closed  the  door. 

"Hello,  Uncle  George;  glad  to  see  you  down  among 
us  cheap  guys,"  the  young  man  said  easily.  "I  say, 
Jerry  —  why  the  hurry  in  rushing  me  in  here?" 

"  I  wanted  you  here  before  you  had  a  chance  to  pass  it 
on  to  some  one  else,"  replied  Jerry. 

"Pass  what  on?" 

"The  watch  you  lifted  off  that  young  dame  you 
danced  with." 

"Why,  Jerry,  honest  to  God,  I  did  n't  — 

"Shut  up!"  snapped  Jerry.  "  I  seen  it  all.  The  ticker's 
in  your  left  pants  pocket  right  now!  Take  it  out!" 

The  young  fellow's  smiling,  handsome  face  became 
inflamed  with  sudden  passion.  "I  didn't  take  any 
watch  —  and  if  I  did,  who  are  you  to  be  calling  me  down 
for  it?"  he  cried.  And  then  his  voice  became  mocking 
in  its  rage.  "  Black  Jerry  Malone  —  it's  enough  to  make 


io  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

a  guy  laugh,  you  to  try  to  call  me  down  for  merely  lift- 
ing a  watch.  You!  —  when  if  you  'd  got  what  was  com- 
ing to  you,  you'd  have  gone  to  the  chair!  And  every- 
body knows  it!" 

Black  Jerry  moved  one  step  nearer  the  other  and  his 
powerful  shoulders  lifted  menacingly.  "What  I  done 
has  got  nothing  to  do  with  this  proposition,"  he  growled. 
"Take  that  watch  out,  damn  you,  or  I'll  smash  that 
face  of  yours  so  far  through  your  head  you  '11  see  back- 
ward when  you  walk!" 

The  young  fellow  shrunk  before  the  glare  of  Jerry's 
eyes,  and  the  passion  faded  from  his  face.  Slowly  he 
reached  into  his  left  trousers  pocket  and  held  out  a 
lady's  watch. 

"Put  it  back  in  your  pocket,"  Black  Jerry  ordered. 

Wonderingly  the  young  fellow  returned  the  watch  to 
his  pocket. 

"You  damned  cheap  crook,"  Jerry  flamed  at  him  — 
"  pulling  a  stunt  like  that  in  my  joint !  You  know  there  'd 
be  a  holler  on  account  of  that  watch  —  and  you  know 
how  much  worse  I  'd  get  in  with  the  coppers  just  be- 
cause it  happened  in  my  place.  And  yet  you  try  to  pull 
it  just  the  same  —  and  me  all  the  time  paying  you  good 
money  to  work  for  me!  Damn  you!" 

Suddenly  Black  Jerry's  right  arm  shot  out  and  his 
open  palm  detonated  upon  the  other's  cheek.  Though  it 
was  only  a  slap,  the  other  went  staggering.  But  as  he 
was  falling,  Jerry's  left  hand  caught  him  and  swung 
him  to  his  feet. 

"Shut  up!"  Jerry  ordered,  before  Slim  could  open  his 
mouth.  "  If  you  've  gotta  steal,  that 's  your  own  business. 
But  you  've  gotta  do  it  away  from  my  joint  —  remember 
that!"  Jerry  was  silent  a  moment,  glaring  at  the  other. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 1 

Then  he  spoke  sharply.  "And  the  worst  thing  about 
you,  you  stiff,  is  that  you  don't  have  to  steal.  You're 
clever  enough  to  get  on  without  stealing.  You're  a 
clever  performer  —  I  '11  hand  it  to  you  for  that." 

He  shoved  the  young  fellow  toward  the  door.  "  You 
go  in  there  now  and  put  that  watch  back  on  that  dame!" 

"How?" 

"If  you  knew  how  to  take  it  off  I  guess  you  know  how 
to  put  it  back.  Dance  with  her  again." 

Slim  started  to  slip  through  the  door,  but  Jerry  caught 
him  once  more.  "Another  word,  Slim,"  he  said  men- 
acingly. "  If  you  want  to  keep  your  health,  you'd  better 
keep  away  from  my  Jennie.  Now,  go  to  it!" 

Jerry  followed  the  young  man  out.  Again  behind  the 
screen  Black  Jerry  watched  Slim,  with  his  pleasing  man- 
ner of  audacious  politeness,  ask  the  young  woman  to 
dance.  His  keen,  practiced  eye  was  on  the  couple  every 
instant  they  whirled  about  the  floor;  and  was  on  them 
when  Slim  bowed  her  back  to  her  seat. 

He  was  satisfied.   Slim  had  restored  the  watch. 


CHAPTER  II 

BLACK  JERRY  MALONE 

FOR  a  space  Jerry  stood  gazing  in  at  the  motley 
crowd.    His  mind,  for  the  moment,  was  occupied 
with  just  one  thing  —  his  character  and  his  past 
with  which  the  angered  Slim  had  just  taunted  him,  and 
about  which  that  guide  yonder  had  just  whispered  to 
his  thrilled  audience.  Automatically  the  chief  events  of 
that  past,  and  some  hint  of  their  present  significance, 
passed  through  Jerry's  mind  in  swift  review.  .  .  . 

Jerry  was  a  son  of  the  old  "Cherry  Hill"  district, 
where  to  fight  one's  way  up  and  to  be  cleverer  than  the 
other  guy  were  the  standards  on  which  one  modeled 
one's  manhood.  Black  Jerry  had  first  attained  minor 
fame  as  a  second-rate  middle-weight  pugilist  —  he  had 
put  on  many  a  pound  since  then.  Then  his  strength 
and  his  dominating  character  had  made  him  the  leader 
of  the  "Ginger  Bucks,"  most  notorious  of  New  York 
gangs  for  a  decade ;  —  and  in  that  position  his  wits  and 
his  control  over  his  pack  had  made  him  extremely  useful 
to  a  class  of  politicians  that  (as  far  as  their  actual  prac- 
tice is  concerned)  is  now  happily  going  out  of  vogue.  In 
this  period  he  was  charged  with  participation  in  such 
political  activities  as  colonizing,  intimidating  voters, 
overtaxing  the  capacity  of  ballot-boxes,  though  nothing 
was  ever  definitely  proved  against  him  —  and  in  con- 
sequence he  acquired  further  notoriety  through  the  news- 
papers, and  the  name,  "Black  Jerry"  Malone,  came  to 
be  regarded  by  the  good  people  who  took  an  interest  in 
political  and  social  conditions  in  New  York  as  synony- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 3 

mous,  in  a  lesser  way,  with  all  that  the  city  held  which 
was  evil. 

But  that  had  only  been  the  foundation,  or  the  spring- 
board, of  the  real  notoriety  of  Black  Jerry.  Earlier  than 
this  he  had  married  a  sentimental  young  school-teacher, 
who  had  been  fascinated  by  his  personality  and  the  evil 
tales  about  him,  and  who  had  romanticized  herself  into 
believing  she  could  reform  him.  When  Jennie  was  five 
years  old,  the  pretty  wife  was  overtaken  by  romance 
again.  This  time  the  man  was  one  Philip  Garrison, 
handsome  and  young  and  of  a  well-known  family  —  and 
Jennie's  mother,  not  pausing  for  a  second  thought,  went 
adventuring  in  search  of  love  with  him. 

Black  Jerry,  seeking  his  wife  without  having  spoken 
his  purpose  to  any  one,  at  length  found  her  in  a  little 
Harlem  flat,  the  handsome  cavalier  with  her.  When 
the  police  arrived,  attracted  by  the  uproar,  the  picture 
which  the  sophisticated  officers  saw  explained  every- 
thing: a  crumpled  man,  his  skull  injured,  an  arm  broken 
—  a  hysterical  woman  writhing  on  the  floor,  bleeding 
from  a  bullet  wound,  yet  still  able  to  see  all  that  was 
happening  —  and  Black  Jerry  standing  between  the 
two  holding  a  revolver  that  examination  showed  to 
contain  two  empty  shells. 

The  pretty,  light-minded  wife  in  her  frenzy,  having 
as  her  first  thought  only  the  protection  of  her  name,  and 
not  knowing  the  nature  of  her  wound,  made  a  statement : 
Jerry  had  been  brutal  to  her,  life  with  him  had  been 
endurable  no  longer;  and  in  fear  of  him  she  had  run  away 
and  gone  into  hiding.  It  had  been  her  intention  to  se- 
cure a  divorce,  and  gain  possession  of  Jennie.  This  Mr. 
Garrison,  an  old  friend,  was  merely  calling  upon  her, 
to  help  her  with  advice,  when  Jerry  had  broken  in. 


14  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Jerry  had  first  shot  her  with  the  pistol  the  police  had 
found  him  holding,  and  had  then  sprung  upon  Mr. 
Garrison.  That  was  God's  truth,  God  help  her! 

And  that  was  the  nearest  to  God's  truth  she  ever 
told,  for  she  suddenly  died  within  an  hour,  without  ever 
realizing  how  serious  was  her  injury,  and  never  know- 
ing that  Philip  Garrison  had  died  before  her  from  a 
fractured  skull.  And  within  the  hour  Black  Jerry 
was  locked  up  in  the  Tombs,  charged  with  a  double 
murder. 

And  also  within  the  hour  the  papers  were  full  of  the 
affair,  and  at  irregular  intervals  they  were  full  of  it  for 
months  thereafter.  It  had  all  the  elements  of  a  big  pop- 
ular newspaper  story  of  which  the  public  can  never  read 
enough:  a  pretty  woman,  refined,  of  good  family,  who 
had  suffered  unspeakably  to  try  to  make  an  honor- 
able man  of  her  husband  —  and  who  at  the  last,  in  sheer 
desperation,  had  tried  to  escape  back  into  a  better  life; 
and  a  man,  a  likable,  decent  fellow,  an  old  friend,  moti- 
vated by  impulses  of  chivalry,  who  had  tried  to  aid  a 
harried  woman ;  and  a  super- villain,  the  notorious  Black 
Jerry,  who,  after  shooting  down  his  wife,  in  his  vindic- 
tive fury  and  with  his  gorilla-like  strength,  had  crunch- 
ingly  snapped  the  arm  of  his  wife's  protector  and  had 
then  hurled  him  against  a  steam  radiator,  breaking  his 
head.  By  the  papers  Jerry  was  tried  and  found  guilty 
that  first  day. 

In  the  beginning  the  police,  the  papers,  and  the  pub- 
lic never  doubted  this  version  of  the  drama,  as  no  fuller 
investigation  was  undertaken.  Why  should  it,  when  the 
case  was  so  obvious?  — when  Jerry's  part  in  it  was  so 
thoroughly  in  keeping  with  what  was  believed  to  be  his 
character?  Police  and  press  made  Jerry  the  super- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 5 

beast,  and  the  police  crowed  loudly  over  this  example 
of  the  prompt  work  of  the  Department. 

All  this  time  Jerry,  in  his  cell,  said  nothing  in  his 
own  behalf.  He  was  reticent  by  nature,  and  in  his  cyni- 
cal wisdom  he  knew  nothing  he  might  say  would  be  be- 
lieved —  and  he  also  knew  that  by  speaking  he  would 
add  to  the  hatred  with  which  he  was  regarded,  a  loath- 
ing for  trying  to  clear  himself  by  attacking  the  good 
names  of  the  dead.  Also  the  first  few  months  during 
which  he  was  in  the  Tombs  awaiting  trial,  he  was 
utterly  without  support.  He  had  had  backers  and  fol- 
lowers in  the  days  of  his  power,  but  few  friends  —  Uncle 
George  did  not  then  know  him;  and  so  high  was  the 
feeling  against  him  that  those  with  influence  whom  he 
had  served  in  the  past,  dared  not  endanger  their  posi- 
tion by  giving  him  help. 

Presently  the  police  discovered  that  their  original 
statement,  reflecting  so  gloriously  upon  the  efficiency 
and  watchfulness  of  the  Department,  contained  cer- 
tain elements  of  error;  but  in  those  days  —  at  least  —  it 
was  not  the  policy  of  the  Police  Department  voluntarily 
to  confess  a  fallibility  which  might  detract  from  its 
credit.  When  Jerry's  trial  was  first  called,  the  District 
Attorney,  prompted  by  the  Police  Department,  asked 
for  a  postponement;  the  Chief  of  Police  feared  Jerry 
might  have  a  defense,  and  wished  time  to  learn  what 
that  defense  was  and  to  prepare  against  it.  But  at  this 
period  Jerry  had  no  plan  of  defense.  It  was  his  intention 
to  accept  grimly  the  jury's  verdict  and  the  judge's  sen- 
tence —  and  he  knew  well  what  verdict  and  sentence 
would  be. 

This  reprieve  brought  Jerry  an  unexpected  chance. 
The  postponement  caused  a  shrewd  young  criminal 


1 6  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

lawyer,  looking  for  an  opportunity  to  build  a  name,  to 
smell  that  something  was  not  altogether  right.  He 
made  a  private  study  of  the  case;  then  he  saw  Jerry,  in- 
formed Jerry  he  was  innocent,  and  that  he  was  Jerry's 
lawyer.  After  a  time  Jerry  told  the  lawyer  a  part  of  the 
truth  —  he  never  admitted  the  infidelity  of  his  wife. 
The  young  attorney  exulted ;  never  had  he  dreamed  of 
such  fortune  as  having  for  his  first  big  case  so  sensa- 
tional an  affair  as  this  was  going  to  prove. 

He  worked  hard  and  carefully;  he  believed  he  had 
built  up  a  perfect  defense  —  and  his  confident  manner 
showed  it.  This  confidence  was  reported  to  the  Chief  of 
Police,  and  the  Chief  had  learned  another  thing  or  two; 
with  the  result  that  the  day  before  Jerry's  trial  was 
called  the  second  time,  the  Chief  was  in  the  inner  office  of 
the  District  Attorney.  They  were  good  friends,  and  also 
"good  organization"  men,  and  they  spoke  to  the  point. 

"Tim,"  said  the  Chief,  "I'm  in  a  hell  of  a  hole,  and 
so's  the  Department.  You've  got  to  help  us  out." 

"Shoot,"  said  the  District  Attorney.  "What's  wrong 
now?" 

" It's  that  case  of  Black  Jerry  Malone.  If  it  comes  to 
trial,  I  'm  due  for  one  awful  panning,  and  so  is  the  De- 
partment —  and  neither  of  us  can  stand  it." 

"Go  on,"  said  the  District  Attorney. 

"You  know  what  a  noise  we  made  about  Black  Jerry 
being  guilty,  and  all  the  big  floral  set-pieces  we  handed 
ourselves  over  the  footlights  because  of  the  good  work 
we'd  done?  " 

"Yes.  But  what's  up?" 

"Tim,  we  can't  put  that  conviction  across.  And  if  we 
try  to  and  don't,  you  know  where  we  get  off  with  the 
public." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 7 

"Can't  convict?  Why  not?" 

"I  don't  need  to  tell  you  how  we'd  doped  out  the 
prosecution  —  you  know  that  better  than  I  do.  All  I 
need  say  here  is  that  the  police  have  yelled  that  Jerry 
is  guilty,  that  he  croaked  the  other  guy,  shot  his  wife, 
and  that  the  gun  he  used  was  his  own.  Now,  Jerry's 
lawyer  is  going  to  declare  that  the  gun  was  the  other 
guy's  —  and  he  can  prove  it,  for  it 's  so.  His  line  of 
defense  for  Jerry  is  going  to  be  that  Jerry  merely  went  to 
get  his  wife.  And  he's  going  to  claim  that  the  other 
guy  opened  fire  on  Jerry,  and  that  Jerry's  wife  was  ac- 
cidentally killed  by  one  of  the  other  guy's  bullets  — 
and  he  can  claim  that  Jerry  jumped  on  him  in  self- 
defense,  and  that  this  Garrison  having  his  head  cracked 
over  the  radiator  was  an  accident  which  happened  while 
the  two  men  fought  for  the  gun.  And  as  to  who  did  the 
shooting,  the  lawyer  can  prove  that,  too,  if  he 's  as  wise 
a  young  bird  as  I  think  he  is." 

"Prove  it?  How?" 

"By  having  the  court  order  us  to  produce  the  coat 
Jerry  wore  that  day.  Honest,  Tim,  we  believed  it  all 
happened  just  the  way  we  gave  it  out.  But  when  we 
arrested  Jerry,  we  kept  everything  he  had  as  material 
evidence,  including  his  clothes.  Naturally  we  did  n't 
examine  his  clothes  at  the  time ;  but  when  I  learned  a  bit 
about  his  defense  I  had  them  brought  in  to  me.  Well, 
Tim,  the  shoulder  of  his  coat  is  powder-burned,  and 
there's  a  bullet  hole  in  his  sleeve.  Jerry  did  n't  even 
know  about  the  bullet  holes,  since  he  was  n't  touched 
himself.  All  that  won't  listen  very  good  to  any  jury, 
Tim." 

"But  there's  his  wife's  dying  statement,"  said  the 
District  Attorney. 


18  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"I  don't  need  to  tell  you,  Tim,  what  a  wife's  testi- 
mony against  her  husband  is  worth  in  court.  And  that 
testimony  will  be  worth  a  darned  sight  less  when  the 
lawyer  brings  out  the  fact,  as  he  sure  will,  that  Jerry's 
wife  had  run  off  with  this  other  guy  —  remember,  no- 
body knows  that  yet  —  and  makes  it  plain  that  she  was 
lying  to  protect  herself  and  the  other  guy  as  well.  No, 
Tim,  the  Department  has  pulled  an  awful  bone ;  to  go 
through  with  that  trial  will  show  us  up  to  the  public  in 
a  way  we  can't  stand.  And  it'll  be  bad  for  the  city  to 
think  it's  got  a  bum  Police  Department.  I 'm  willing  to 
stand  for  a  moderate  amount  of  knocking,  but  not  for 
what '11  fall  on  me  if  that  case  goes  through.  It's  up  to 
you,  Tim,  to  help  me  out." 

The  District  Attorney  meditated.  "I'll  do  all  I  can, 
Jack/' 

The  next  morning  an  eager-souled  young  lawyer,  who 
believed  he  was  about  to  explode  the  sensation  of  the 
decade,  and  who  saw  glittering  just  before  him  the  up- 
ward path  to  fortune  and  to  fame,  arose  in  the  court- 
room, and  went  through  with  the  procedure  which  is  a 
perfunctory  preliminary  to  all  such  cases  —  that  is,  he 
moved  that  the  indictment  be  dismissed.  The  District 
Attorney  stood  up,  and  with  punitive  energy  spoke 
about  the  majesty  of  the  law  and  the  necessity  of  its 
strict  enforcement,  and  then  wound  up  by  declaring  that 
he  believed  Black  Jerry  to  be  as  guilty  as  hell,  but  that 
a  close  reexamination  of  all  the  evidence  in  his  posses- 
sion convinced  him  that  the  State  did  not  have  the  proof 
necessary  to  secure  a  conviction,  and  that  therefore, 
in  order  to  save  the  court  time  and  the  State  expense, 
he  wished  to  support  the  motion  of  the  counsel  for  the 
defense  that  the  indictment  be  dismissed. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  19 

The  young  lawyer's  glittering  world  came  crashing 
about  his  head,  and  he  sat  blinking  and  gasping.  The 
judge  who  had  been  privately  forewarned,  quickly 
acted  in  accord  with  this  joint  request  of  the  defending 
and  the  prosecuting  attorneys,  and  dismissed  Jerry  with 
the  most  stern  and  outraged  speech  that  he  had  been 
able  to  prepare  upon  such  short  notice. 

And  thus  Black  Jerry  returned  to  the  world,  in  the 
anomalous  position  of  being  a  discharged  prisoner  and 
yet  a  prisoner  who  bore  the  brand  of  guilt.  And  all  who 
had  followed  this  tragi-romance  —  and  every  one  had  — 
believed  in  his  guilt,  and  Jerry  became  an  even  more 
sinister  figure  in  the  minds  of  the  people. 

At  that  time  Black  Jerry  was  not  greatly  concerned 
over  the  fact  that  he  had  not  been  cleared.  He  did  not 
care  what  the  great  world  thought  about  him;  and  in  his 
own  world  there  was  more  prestige  attached  to  "beating 
a  case"  than  to  being  honestly  proved  innocent.  Per- 
haps Jerry  was  in  his  heart  not  much  better  than  the 
public's  estimate  of  him ;  though  he  had  not  gone  to  kill, 
yet  he  was  glad  that  Garrison  had  "got  his."  Taking  it 
all  in  all,  Black  Jerry  was  inclined  to  regard  it  as  an  even 
break,  and  he  never  discussed  the  matter. 

All  this  had  happened  ten  years  before.  At  that  time 
Black  Jerry  never  guessed  that  this  episode  might  have 
some  bearing  upon  the  lives  of  himself  and  Jennie.  And 
even  now,  as  he  stood  peering  through  the  screens  into 
his  cafe,  he  did  not  guess  how  this  episode,  and  the  dark 
reputation  it  had  helped  beget  for  him,  was  going  to 
reach  out  of  the  past,  and  keep  on  reaching  out  of  the 
past,  to  affect  Jennie's  future,  and  hardly  less  his 
own.  .  .  . 

Black  Jerry  stepped  back  into  his  office  and  told  Uncle 


2O  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

George  that  Slim  Jackson  had  returned  the  watch. 
"It's  one  hell  of  a  job  to  keep  the  crooks  from  pulling 
jobs  in  my  joint!"  he  went  on  in  his  exasperated  growl. 
"It's  none  of  my  business  how  much  they  steal,  and  I 
don't  care,  if  only  they  '11  do  their  stealing  away  from  the 
Pekin.  But  with  the  name  I  got,  you  know  what  the 
police  would  do  if  just  one  big  holler  went  out  about  a 
job  being  turned  here!" 

Uncle  George  nodded.  He  regarded  Jerry  keenly  a 
moment  with  his  wise  old  eyes ;  then  — 

"Is  this  the  thing  that's  been  worrying  you  so, 
Jerry?" 

"It's  worried  me  —  sure."  Jerry  regarded  the  other 
steadily;  he  was  wrestling  with  a  strong  impulse.  "  Uncle 
George,  I'll  hand  it  to  you  straight,"  he  said  abruptly. 
"That  stealing  here  worries  me  —  sure.  That  business 
of  the  phony  check  worries  me  —  sure.  But  they're 
nothing.  What's  worrying  me  is  something  a  damned 
sight  bigger!" 

"Yes?"  interrogated  Uncle  George. 

"Just  heard  a  limber-jawed  guy  in  there  spill  some  of 
his  dope  to  the  bunch  of  rubber-necks  he  was  steering 
round.  He  did  n't  know  or  care  what  he  was  saying; 
he  was  just  spilling  words;  but  he  said  something.  He 
said  what  becomes  of  kids  that  have  crooks  for  their 
parents  and  that  live  among  crooks?  He  said  what 
chance  does  such  a  kid  have?  Uncle  George,  that's  the 
big  thing  that  has  me  worrying!  " 

"You're  thinking  about  Jennie?"  Uncle  George  in- 
quired softly. 

"Yes  —  Jennie."  It  was  not  often  that  Black  Jerry's 
deeper  feelings  gained  a  little  freedom,  and  when  they 
did  he  was  at  a  loss  how  to  manage  them.  He  still  spoke 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  21 

in  his  bass  growl,  but  it  was  a  bit  unsteady.  "Last  week 
Jennie  was  sixteen.  I'd  been  thinking  of  her  before, 
sure  —  but  it  was  her  being  sixteen  that  really  broke  the 
news  to  me  that  Jennie  was  growing  up." 

"Yes,  she's  growing  up,  Jerry." 

Black  Jerry  flushed  with  contemptuous  anger.  "That 
limber- jawed  fool  back  there  was  saying,  how  does  a 
crook  feel  towards  his  children.  I  Ve  been  pretty  much 
of  a  crook  in  my  time,  sure  — 

"So  have  I,  Jerry  —  so  have  I." 

"But  I  guess  I  think  as  much  of  my  kid  as  any  other 
guy!" 

"And  I  guess  she  thinks  as  much  of  you,  Jerry,  as  any 
kid  can  think  of  her  dad."  Then  the  wise  old  man 
added : ' '  Though,  of  course,  Jerry,  you  Ve  got  to  remem- 
ber that  all  kids  of  sixteen  think  mostly  of  themselves." 

"And  I  guess  I  'd  do  as  much  for  my  kid  as  any  other 
man,"  Jerry  continued.  "  I  've  kept  her  in  school  —  she's 
now  in  high  school  —  and  I  Ve  had  her  take  piano  les- 
sons and  that  sort  of  junk.  I  could  afford  it  —  for  I  Ve 
made  good  money  here,  in  spite  of  everything  —  and 
you  know  I  Ve  run  a  place  that 's  really  as  straight  as 
any  of  them  swell  joints  on  Broadway  or  Fifth  Avenue. 
And  the  money  I  Ve  spent  on  Jennie  ain't  been  wasted, 
either.  She  may  not  have  some  of  the  manners  of  up- 
town kids,  but  when  it  comes  to  knowing  what 's  what, 
and  how  to  use  her  bean,  I  '11  back  her  against  any  of 
that  uptown  bunch!" 

Uncle  George  regarded  Black  Jerry  keenly,  then 
slowly  nodded  his  head.  "It's  just  what  I  guessed  all 
the  time,  Jerry:  you're  as  proud  as  hell  of  Jennie!" 

Jerry  flushed  defiantly.  "I've  got  a  right  to  be, 
ain't  I?  She's  my  kid,  ain't  she?  And  I  tell  you  what" 


22  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

—  doggedly  —  "she's  going  to  be  somebody  some  day! 
You  just  watch!" 

Uncle  George  nodded.  The  flush  of  grim,  dogged  pride 
faded  from  Jerry's  face. 

"I  guess  I've  always  had  that  idea,"  he  said  gruffly; 
"but  it's  only  been  lately  that  I  Ve  noticed  that  Jennie 
is  growing  up,  and  that  I  Ve  been  wondering  about  this 
being  the  place  for  her  to  grow  up  in.  There,  I  Ve  handed 
it  all  to  you,  Uncle  George.  That 's  my  big  worry  — 
Jennie.  I  guess  you  get  me." 

"Yes,  I  get  you." 

"Well,  what  am  I  going  to  do  about  Jennie?" 

Uncle  George  regarded  the  other  meditatively.  He 
was  thinking  about  Jerry's  problem  —  yes;  but  old 
worldling  that  he  was,  cynical  and  kindly,  and  accus- 
tomed in  these  his  later  years  to  meditate  philosophi- 
cally upon  the  new  revelations  life  unfolded  to  him  —  he 
wondered  what  the  world  would  think,  who  remembered 
Jerry  and  regarded  him  as  a  ruthless  man-beast  that  had 
escaped  justice  by  a  fluke,  could  the  world  have  glimpsed 
that  part  of  Jerry  which  had  just  been  opened  to  him. 

"Well,  what  am  I  going  to  do  about  Jennie?"  Black 
Jerry  repeated. 

But  before  Uncle  George  could  reply,  the  telephone 
on  the  desk  began  to  ring.  Jerry  took  up  the  receiver. 

"Hello  .  .  .  Yes,  this  is  Jerry  Malone  .  .  .  But  I 
thought  you  were  coming  back  here?  .  .  .  Well,  since 
you  put  it  that  way,  I  '11  come  over.  Yes,  I  '11  be  right 
over." 

He  hung  up.  "  It  was  Casey,  Uncle  George  —  about 
that  bum  check.  He  asked  me  to  come  over  to  Police 
Headquarters;  I  would  n't  do  it  for  any  dick  but  Casey, 
Wish  vou'd  come  along." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  23 

"All  right,"  agreed  Uncle  George. 

Together  the  two  men  left  the  little  office,  and  pass- 
ing behind  the  screens  from  the  other  side  of  which 
came  the  sound  of  music  and  laughter,  they  walked 
through  the  narrow  hallway  and  out  into  the  street. 


CHAPTER  III 

JENNIE 

WHILE  Black  Jerry  and  Uncle  George  were 
concluding  their  talk  in  Jerry's  little  office,  up 
in  a  room  of  the  living  apartment  above  the  Pe- 
kin,  Jennie  was  refreshing  a  bed  that  had  been  rumpled 
by  restless  tossing.  This  done  and  the  night-light  ad- 
justed, she  looked  down  at  the  worn  face  on  the  pillow, 
then  stooped  and  kissed  it. 

"Feel  any  better,  Aunt  Mary?" 

"I  think  I  do,  dearie."  And  then,  quaveringly:  "I'm 
an  awful  nuisance,  Jennie;  but  when  this  rheuma- 
tism—  " 

"No,  you're  not,  Aunt  Mary.  You've  done  plenty 
of  my  share  of  the  work  when  I've  been  sick,  or"  — 
with  a  mischievous,  contrite  smile  —  "when  I  wanted 
to  get  out  of  it." 

The  older  woman  smiled  affectionately.  "  I  Ve  always 
been  glad  to  do  it,  dearie." 

"I  don't  see  how  you  could,  auntie,  for  I've  not  al- 
ways been  the  sort  of  person  it's  easy  to  be  nice  to." 
Just  then  Jennie  was  in  one  of  her  frankest,  most  lik- 
able moods. 

"Yes,  you  have  had  your  whims  and  your  tempers  — 
but  for  ten  years  you  've  been  the  same  as  my  own  child." 
Like  most  sick  persons  Mary  Graham  liked  to  wander 
through  and  sentimentalize  upon  the  past.  "And  that 
first  year  —  while  your  father  was  in  jail  —  I  had  you 
all  to  myself.  After  what  my  sister  did,  I  could  n't  do 
less  than  all  I  could  for  you." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  25 

From  the  day  of  the  now  distant  tragedy  Mary 
Graham  had  known  the  truth  about  the  brief  and  ill- 
fated  second  romance  of  her  younger  sister;  and  Jennie, 
since  she  was  ten,  had  also  known  the  unpublished  history 
of  that  episode. 

"You've  been  too  good  to  me,  auntie.  Is  there  any- 
thing else  I  can  do  for  you?" 

"I  suppose  you've  put  the  kitchen  in  order?" 

"Yes." 

"And  your  lessons  for  to-morrow  —  you've  got 
them?" 

"Yes."  Jennie  gave  a  little  shrug  of  contempt. 
"Those  lessons  —  they're  nothing!" 

"You  're  so  clever,  Jennie ! "  The  older  woman  reached 
out  and  took  Jennie's  hand,  and  gazed  up  into  her  face 
admiringly,  thoughtfully,  for  a  long  moment.  "You're 
so  clever  —  and  independent  —  and  ambitious  —  and  — 
and—" 

"And  selfish,"  supplied  Jennie. 

"  Not  always,"  protested  her  aunt  —  "but,  you  know, 
so  sure  of  yourself,  that  I  wonder  what  kind  of  a 
woman  you  are  going  to  be.  I  'm  always  wondering  that, 
Jennie." 

"Whatever  I  do  become,"  smiled  Jennie  confidently, 
"I  guess  I '11  be  able  to  take  care  of  myself." 

"Yes,  I  think  you  will,  Jennie.  In  some  ways  you're 
already  more  grown  up  than  I  am.  .  .  .  Don't  bother 
about  me  any  more,  dearie.  I  hope  I' 11  be  able  to  be 
up  to-morrow.  Go  back  into  the  sitting-room  and  sing 
that  song  again  with  Harry.  Mebbe  it'll  help  me  fall 
asleep." 

Jennie  kissed  her  again,  and  went  out,  leaving  the 
door  open.  A  well-built  young  man,  perhaps  twenty- 


26  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

two,  arose  and  laid  aside  a  magazine.  There  was  nothing 
handsome  in  his  face  and  nothing  subtle;  but  it  was 
frank-eyed  and  likable,  and  it  instantly  gave  one  the 
sense  that  its  owner  was  impulsive  and  loyal  —  that  he 
might  on  occasion  be  swayed  either  by  dogged  deter- 
mination or  by  utter  recklessness. 

"Auntie  wants  us  to  sing  that  duet  again,  Harry," 
said  Jennie.  "  Come  on." 

She  sat  down  at  the  piano,  and  together  they  sang  the 
Barcarolle  from  the  "Tales  of  Hoffmann."  Jennie  had 
a  warm  mezzo-soprano  which  had  had  some  training, 
and  he  had  a  fair  baritone,  and  together  they  gave  a 
very  tuneful  rendition  of  Offenbach's  sugary,  swinging 
melody.  Toward  the  middle  of  the  love-sighing  of  the 
song,  Harry  slipped  a  hand  upon  her  shoulder,  which 
she  seemed  not  to  notice. 

"Let's  sing  it  again,  Jennie,"  he  urged  when  they  had 
finished. 

"All  right  —  bu.t  more  softly  this  time." 

So  they  sang  it  again  —  sang  it  so  softly  that  the  old 
love  song  was  as  gentle  as  a  lullaby.  At  the  end  the 
hand  which  had  still  remained  on  her  shoulder,  slipped 
to  her  waist  and  Harry,  bending  down,  kissed  her. 
She  did  not  try  to  evade  or  oppose  this  endearment. 
She  was  fond  of  Harry,  and  this  was  not  his  first  kiss  — 
not  by  many  kisses. 

"Jennie —  I  have  n't  yet  had  a  chance  to  tell  you 
what  I  came  to  tell  you,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice. 

"Wait  a  minute."  She  rose,  unloosing  his  arm,  and 
crossed  and  peeped  through  the  open  door  of  the  bed- 
room. The  eyes  on  the  pillow  were  closed,  and  the 
steady  breathing  told  her  that  her  aunt  had  at  last  fallen 
asleep.  She  tiptoed  in,  arranged  the  bedclothes,  and 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  27 

for  a  moment  gazed  down  at  the  pale,  relaxed  face  of 
the  woman  who  had  tried  to  guide  her,  —  but  whom,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  Jennie  had  managed  almost  as  she 
pleased.  She  bent  down  and  with  contrite  affection 
touched  her  lips  to  the  drawn  face ;  then  she  put  out  the 
night-light,  and  noiselessly  went  out,  closing  the  door 
behind  her. 

She  marched  across  to  Harry,  but  stopped  a  safe  five 
feet  from  him  —  a  straight,  slender  figure,  hands  on  her 
hips,  her  dark  head  cocked,  a  teasing,  impudent  smile 
on  her  face.  She  was  a  swiftly  transformed  person  from 
the  Jennie  who  had  sighed  through  "Oh,  Night  of 
Love." 

" Well,  my  son  —  what's  the  sad  story?" 

"Jennie,  you're  a  regular  little  devil!"  exclaimed  the 
young  fellow,  exasperated  at  the  change  in  her.  He  had 
wished  for  the  continuance  of  the  tender  mood  at  the 
piano. 

"Thanks — but  no  time  for  compliments  now,"  she 
mocked  him.  "Other  clients  waiting  — " 

"Jennie  —  there  are  about  seven  different  persons  in 
you!" 

"You  should  be  glad,  not  grouchy,  over  that,"  the 
mocking  voice  returned  promptly.  "When  one  of  the 
persons  wears  out,  there  are  still  several  more  left  of 
me.  .  .  .  Come  on,  my  son,  what  is  it?" 

He  looked  at  her,  provoked  but  helpless.  He  had 
learned  that  he  was  no  match  for  her  in  words  or  in 
moods. 

"Jennie,  I'd  like  to  be  your  father  just  long  enough 
to  spank  you!"  Then  he  smiled  —  an  open,  boyish 
smile  —  and  ran  a  big  hand  through  his  tangle  of  yel- 
lowish hair.  "Yes,  you're  a  devil  —  but  I  guess  I  like 


28  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

devils.  Well,  first  thing  I  wanted  to  tell  you  is,  I  got 
a  new  job  and  a  better  job." 

Again  her  mood  changed;  she  was  frankly  delighted. 
"I'm  awf'ly  glad,  Harry!  What  is  it?" 

"With  Harrison  and  Company  —  the  big  contracting 
firm  —  in  the  engineering  department.  And  good  pay, 
Jennie  —  thirty  a  week." 

"That  is  splendid,  Harry!   How  did  you  get  it?" 

"I  got  it,  miss,  because  they  saw  I  was  the  best  man 
for  the  place." 

"Of  course.  But  you  must  have  had  an  introduction 
or  recommendation.  Who  helped  you  with  that?" 

"Sam  Conway." 

"Sam  Conway!"  she  exclaimed. 

"Yes,  Sam  Conway.  He's  some  sort  of  silent  partner 
in  the  firm." 

She  had  become  suddenly  sober.  "That's  one  part 
of  it  that  I  can't  be  glad  about,  Harry." 

"Why?" 

"You  know  that  whenever  Sam  Conway  helps  you 
or  gives  you  anything,  he  makes  you  pay  for  it  —  some- 
time —  somehow.  And  the  way  he  makes  you  pay  when 
pay- time  comes  —  it 's  not  always  the  way  you  'd  rather 
pay." 

"There's  nothing  in  this,  and  never  will  be,  for  Sam 
Conway!"  exclaimed  Harry.  "He  just  did  it  because 
he's  my  friend." 

"  You  mean  you  think  he's  your  friend." 

"Now,  listen  here,  Jennie!"  The  young  fellow's  face 
had  flushed,  there  was  an  emphatic  ring  to  his  voice. 
"These  stories  about  Sam  Conway  are  all  bunk.  Sam's 
a  politician,  yes,  but  the  people  who  think  of  Sam  Con- 
way  as  a  scheming  political  boss  have  got  Sam  all 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  29 

wrong !  Sam  is  a  good  fellow !  —  and  he 's  a  good  straight 
friend,  who'd  do  anything  for  his  friends!  —  and  he's 
certainly  done  a  lot  for  me !  I  tell  you,  Sam 's  all  right ! " 

"I  hope  he'll  be  so  in  your  case,  Harry.  But  —  be 
careful!" 

"Sam's  all  right!"  he  repeated. 

"I've  said  all  I  wanted  to  say.  Let's  not  talk  any 
more  about  that  part  of  it."  She  was  smiling  again. 
"Anyhow,  Harry,  I  'm  hoping  it's  going  to  prove  a  big 
thing  for  you." 

"  It 's  going  to,  you  bet ! "  he  declared,  still  aggressive. 

But  before  her  smile  all  the  stiff  pugnacity  which  had 
been  roused  in  behalf  of  his  friend,  softened  down  and 
again  he  was  the  good-natured  young  fellow  of  five 
minutes  before.  He  put  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  spread 
his  feet  a  trifle,  and  regarded  her  with  smiling  audacity. 

"  I  guess  you  can  guess  the  chief  reason  why  I  'm  glad 
about  this  job." 

"Because  you  can  buy  more  red  neckties." 

"  Because  I  'm  in  right  —  I'll  be  promoted  —  and  I  '11 
be  making  real  money  in  about  two  years.  And  in 
two  years  you'll  be  eighteen  and  through  high  school. 
And  when  you're  eighteen,  Miss  Jennie  Malone,  you 
and  I  are  going  to  get  married." 

"Oh,  we  are,  are  we  —  just  like  that,"  she  returned 
coolly.  "Well,  if  that's  your  guess  of  wrhat  I'm  guess- 
ing, Mr.  Harry  Edwards,  you'd  better  guess  another 
guess  for  me." 

She  was  sober  now  and  she  looked  him  straight  in  the 
eyes,  and  she  spoke  with  a  finality  and  cool  air  of  worldly 
maturity  that  seemed  strangely  out  of  keeping  in  one 
of  her  years.  "Don't  try  to  kid  yourself  that  way, 
Harry.  I  like  you  a  lot  —  you  're  a  nice  boy  —  but  that 


30  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

little  plan  is  never  going  to  work  out.  I  have  some 
ideas  of  my  own  —  and  I  've  told  you  before  that  you 
don't  fit  into  them." 

"Oh,  I  know  you  have  some  kind  of  crazy  ideas,  you 
and  your  father.  But  listen,  Jennie,  I  'm  going  to  make 
good,  and  make  good  big  —  for  you!" 

"I  hope  you  make  good,  Harry,  but  you  're  not  going 
to  do  it  for  me." 

"For  you  —  oh,  yes,  I  am!"  he  returned,  his  chin 
setting. 

"Well,  I  suppose  I  can't  prevent  your  keeping  on 
thinking  that  way  —  and  it's  not  going  to  bother  me  a 
lot  since  you  date  it  all  two  years  from  now.  So  let's 
adjourn  this  discussion."  She  glanced  at  a  little  clock 
on  top  of  the  piano.  "  I  've  got  to  go  downstairs  to  see 
dad  for  a  while.  You  can  wait  here,  if  you  like."  She 
started,  then  halted  as  she  caught  a  look  in  his  face 
and  an  instinctive  movement  of  his  arms.  "Don't  try 
any  spooning  as  I  go  by  you,  Harry  —  I  don't  feel  like 
it,"  she  warned  him.  "If  you  do,  something  may  happen 
that  won't  make  you  very  happy." 

She  passed  him,  and  he  made  no  move.  At  the  door 
she  turned  and  smiled  teasingly. 

"You'll  really  be  a  very  nice  boy,  Harry,  when  you 
grow  up  —  if  that  ever  happens! " 

"I'll  be  grown  up  to  the  exact  size  to  fit  you  in  two 
years!"  he  retorted. 

She  laughed,  mockingly,  and  shut  the  door  behind 
her  —  and  in  so  doing,  she  shut  Harry  instantly  and  com- 
pletely out  of  her  mind.  Her  attention  was  all  now  upon 
quite  another  matter  —  one  which  had  been  restlessly 
in  the  back  of  her  thoughts  this  hour  or  so.  She  stood 
a  moment  in  the  little  hall  at  the  top  of  the  stairway, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  3 1 

gathering  her  wits;  then  she  crept  swiftly  but  quietly 
down  and  slipped  ever  so  cautiously  through  the  side 
door,  opening  from  the  hallway,  into  the  cafe,  and  sidled 
warily  along  behind  the  screens  until  she  was  near  the 
door  of  her  father's  office.  Inch  by  inch  she  leaned  for- 
ward until  her  vision  swept  the  whole  of  the  interior. 
As  she  saw  that  the  office  was  empty,  the  tensity  of  her 
figure  relaxed. 

She  crept  to  the  fissure  between  screens,  and  gazed 
into  the  cafe.  At  first  she  did  not  see  the  crowd  making 
merry  in  their  various  ways;  she  had  eyes  for  but  one 
thing,  her  father.  Presently  she  was  convinced  that  he 
was  not  there,  and  she  drew  a  deep  breath  of  relief. 

She  now  fixed  her  attention  on  Slim  Jackson,  and 
tried  to  catch  his  eye.  But  to  the  music  of  the  piano  and 
one  violin  Slim  was  again  giving  an  exhibition  with  his 
dancing  partner.  Jennie  slipped  through  the  screens 
and  made  for  the  table  Slim  occupied  between  numbers. 

Her  entrance  was  hailed  by  a  score  of  voices  coming 
from  those  persons  that  the  guide  of  the  sight-seeing 
car  had  indicated  as  being  crooks,  confidence  men,  and 
kindred  gentry.  Jennie  greeted  them  easily:  almost 
since  her  memory  began  she  had  known  these  men,  or 
such  as  these.  She  had  listened  to  their  adventures ;  had 
heard  them  talk  about  the  police,  and  suckers,  and  the 
public  that  pretended  to  be  straight ;  and  she  had  heard 
them  philosophize  about  life.  But  whatever  might  be 
their  practices  elsewhere  or  with  others,  they  had  been 
careful  not  to  go  too  far  with  her.  To  this  extent,  Black 
Jerry's  bad  name  had  served  her  well :  it  had  been  a  ring 
of  safety  about  her.  Men  who  loved  their  own  skins 
were  inclined  to  take  no  liberties  with  Jennie  that  might 
involve  a  collision  with  Jerry's  temper  and  strength. 


32  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

In  some  respects  Jennie  may  have  lived  her  life  in  what 
uptown  moralists,  who  had  learned  the  world  from  sit- 
ting in  their  studies,  might  term  hell;  in  other  respects 
she  had  been  as  safe  as  though  bred  in  a  convent. 

While  standing  at  a  table  and  chaffing  with  a  gentle- 
man who  was  reputed  to  do  some  business  in  the  wire- 
tapping way,  she  was  caught  from  behind  and  swept  out 
into  the  dancing  space.  Instinctively  she  fell  into  step 
even  before  she  saw  who  this  capturing  partner  was. 

"What  do  you  mean,  Slim?"  she  gasped.  "You 
almost  scared  me  to  death!" 

"That's  all  right,  Jen.  Come  on,  finish  this  out  with 
me  and  let's  show  this  bunch  how  it  really  ought  to  be 
done!" 

Not  till  then  did  Jennie  notice  that  Slim's  profes- 
sional partner  had  sat  down  and  that  they  two  were 
dancing  alone.  She  caught  the  sudden  new  interest  in 
the  faces  of  the  onlookers.  It  was  in  her  blood  to  excite 
admiration,  and  instantly,  forgetful  of  caution,  she 
was  trying  to  do  her  best.  She  was  a  natural  expert  at 
the  then  new  but  now  passe  tango  —  light  and  graceful 
and  quick  to  follow  into  every  new  figure. 

"Honest,  Jen,  I'm  not  kidding,"  Slim  breathed  into 
her  ear —  "but  it's  some  relief  dancing  with  you  after 
carrying  Daisy  around!" 

That  was  great  praise,  coming  from  Slim.  Slim  was 
a  truly  remarkable  dancer,  with  a  lissome  steely  grace, 
and  a  sense  of  rhythm  in  his  every  muscle  —  the  kind 
of  a  partner  women  dream  about.  With  a  flourish  and  a 
sweeping  bow  they  finished  amid  enthusiastic  applause. 
The  audience  demanded  an  encore. 

"Come  on,  Jen,  let's  give  'em  a  repeat,"  said  Slim. 

"  I  should  n't  have  done  that  one  or  stayed  here  this 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  33 

long,  only  I  forgot,"  whispered  Jennie.  "I've  got  to 
talk  to  you,  Slim.  Meet  me  out  in  the  hall  as  soon  as 
you  can  break  away  without  making  people  guess  you  're 
following  me." 

With  that  she  walked  rapidly  out,  smiling  and  waving 
her  hand  at  the  applauding  tables  —  who  were  not 
seeing  as  much  of  Black  Jerry's  daughter  as  once  they 
did  —  her  black  eyes  shining  with  excitement,  her 
dark  cheeks  high  with  color.  She  slipped  through  the 
screens  and  stood  waiting  in  the  hallway,  keeping  a 
sharp  watch  for  the  first  appearance  of  her  father. 

Presently  Slim  was  beside  her.  "Gee,  it  sure  seems  a 
long  time  since  I've  seen  you,  Jen!" 

"Listen,  Slim,"  she  whispered  rapidly.  "  I  came  down 
awhile  ago  to  see  you,  but  dad  was  here  and  I  did  n't 
dare  risk  it." 

"And  I  guess  you  were  a  cagy  kid  not  to  risk  it,"  he 
returned,  "for  Jerry  is  certainly  sore  at  me." 

"It's  not  just  because  dad's  sore  at  you,  Slim,"  she 
went  on  rapidly,  "but  I  did  n't  want  him  to  see  us  to- 
gether —  and  I  simply  had  to  see  you!  " 

"What's  doing,  Jen?" 

"It's  that  Morrison  check." 

He  started.    "What  about  that  check?" 

"I  overheard  a  part  of  what  a  plain-clothes  man  told 
dad  to-night.  They've  found  out  about  the  check  and 
•the  coppers  are  on  the  job.  I  wanted  to  slip  you  word,  so 
you  would  n't  be  taken  by  surprise  if  anything  breaks." 

"Do  you  think  anything'll  break?" 

"No.  Dad  offered  to  cover  the  check  with  good 
money." 

Slim  laughed  softly,  with  relief.  "Then  why  worry, 
Jen,  if  the  sucker  is  to  be  squared?" 


34  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"That's  not  all  I  came  to  see  you  about.  It's  not 
very  much  money,  but  I  'm  not  going  to  let  dad  have  to 
pay  it.  Slim,  you've  got  to  come  across  with  your  half 
of  that  twenty-five." 

"You  think  an  awful  lot  of  your  dad!"  he  evaded. 

"You  bet  I  do!"  she  declared  sharply.  "I  wish  you 
were  half  what  he  is,  then  you'd  be  a  real  guy,  Slim 
Jackson!" 

"Thanks  for  the  wish,  Jen."  He  tried  to  speak  face- 
tiously. "But  if  it's  all  the  same  to  you,  I'd  rather 
be  who  I  am  than  to  have  his  name." 

But  she  was  not  to  be  diverted;  she  was  instantly 
back  to  the  point.  "Come  across  with  your  share!" 
she  demanded. 

"Sorry,  Jen  —  but  I  'm  cleaned  out." 

"You  lie,  Slim,  and  you  know  that  you  lie,"  she  re- 
turned, very  steadily,  looking  him  squarely  in  the  eyes. 
She  held  out  a  hand.  "  The  twelve-fifty,  Slim  —  and 
quick!" 

He  hesitated,  looking  meditatively  at  the  command- 
ing, slender  figure  which  still  wore  its  skirts  short  of 
a  woman's  length.  Then  he  reached  into  a  pocket. 

"There  you  are;  I  was  only  kidding  you,  Jen,"  he 
laughed.  "Have  you  got  your  share?" 

"No,  but  I  can  get  it." 

"How '11  you  fix  the  thing?" 

"  I'll  slip  the  money  in  among  dad's  cash.  He  '11  square 
that  bad  check  —  and  think  he's  out  that  much  —  only 
he'll  not  be,  and  he'll  never  know  the  difference.  If  he 
ever  notices  the  money  I  slip  back,  he'll  just  think  he's 
made  a  mistake." 

"You're  a  clever  kid,  Jen."  There  was  the  ring  of 
approval  in  Slim's  voice,  but  he  had  really  spoken  me- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  35 

chanically;  his  keen  faculties  had  already  passed  on  to 
the  consideration  of  another  point.  "Of  course  nothing 
is  going  to  break  in  this  check  business,"  he  said  casu- 
ally—  "nothing  has  ever  broken  in  other  checks  you 
and  I  have  put  through.  But  I  suppose  we  ought  to 
think  out  what  we're  going  to  do  if  something  does 
break." 

"Yes." 

"I  figure  it  like  this,  Jennie,"  he  went  on  plausibly. 
"If  they  get  anybody,  they'll  get  you  first  since  you 
wrote  the  check.  Now,  if  they  found  out  that  I'd 
frisked  Morrison  for  his  check-book,  tore  out  a  check, 
had  a  waiter  hand  the  book  back  to  him,  and  then  gave 
you  the  check  to  fix  up  —  why,  they  'd  soak  me  good 
and  plenty,  me  being  a  man.  But  if  you  were  just  to 
tell  them  that  you  found  the  check-book  on  the  floor, 
and  then  filled  the  check,  copying  it  from  the  one  your 
dad  had  cashed  —  why,  the  judge  would  be  easy  on 
you,  you  being  a  girl,  and  being  able  to  say  you  were  a 
first  offender.  They're  always  easy  on  girls,  anyhow. 
Don't  you  see  you  come  out  of  it  exactly  the  same  either 
way?  —  you  come  out  easy.  I  don't  want  to  talk  like 
a  cheap  guy,  Jen  —  and  I  would  n't  say  a  word  if  it 
was  n't  all  the  same  to  you.  But  the  first  way,  they'll 
soak  me  hard ;  the  second  way,  I  'm  not  even  in  it  at  all. 
Since  it'll  work  out  exactly  the  same  to  you,  Jen,  would 
you  mind,  if  you  have  to  say  anything  at  all,  to  tell  it 
the  second  way?" 

She  nodded.  "Sure  —  that'll  be  all  right,  Slim. 
Good-night." 

"Wait,  Jennie!"  He  caught  her  arm.  "I  say,  Jen, 
there 's  something  I  've  been  waiting  a  chance  to  tell 
you  —  something  big." 


36  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Then  tell  it  quick.  I  don't  dare  hang  around  down 
here  long." 

"It's  like  this,  Jen.  I'm  already  too  good  for  this 
joint.  I  'm  going  to  be  the  real  thing  some  day  —  you 
just  watch  me!"  His  voice  had  the  ring  of  conviction. 
Slim's  belief  in  himself  was  honest,  and  indeed  he  had  a 
right  to  it,  for  he  had  ability  of  its  own  sort  —  though 
even  in  his  bold  dream  of  that  moment  he  did  not  foresee 
the  high  places  he  was  eventually  to  reach.  "Look  at 
Connie  Devoe.  He  started  out  singing  in  a  joint  down 
here  —  a  joint  a  damned  sight  cheaper  than  this  dump 
—  and  see  what  Connie  Devoe  has  done  —  writing  all 
the  big  Broadway  musical  shows.  If  he  could  start 
from  down  here,  and  go  up,  you  bet  I  can,  too!  Al- 
ready I  Ve  got  an  opening,  and  a  good  one!" 

"Congratulations,  Slim." 

"But  listen,  Jen.    I  'm  figuring  you  in  this  with  me." 

"Me!   How?" 

"As  dancing  partner." 

"But  you  already  have  Daisy  White." 

"Daisy  —  oh,  God,  that  cow!  Why,  carrying  her  as 
a  load,  I  'm  hardly  up  to  the  level  of  holding  down  even 
this  job.  She's  canned  —  though  she  does  n't  know  it 
yet." 

"Why,  I  thought  you  and  Daisy  were  to  be  married." 

"  Nothing  to  it,  Jen.  Oh,  there  may  have  been  a  love 
scene  or  two  —  but  just  the  usual  thing,  you  know. 
Nothing  to  it  at  all,  Jennie!  Listen,  now  —  get  this 
straight.  I  Ve  got  a  good  idea  for  an  act  —  and  such  a 
team  as  we'd  make,  we'd  soon  be  headliners!" 

"I  suppose  it's  also  your  idea  that  we'd  live  to- 
gether?" 

"Sure,  Jennie.    That  follows,  don't  it?    You  know 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  37 

I'm  off  my  bean  about  you,  and  I'd  sure  treat  you 
fine." 

Jennie  was  not  in  the  slightest  degree  offended; 
what  he  had  suggested  did,  in  her  experience,  follow  as 
a  matter  of  course.  Though  Jennie  was  but  sixteen,  she 
had  a  sophisticated  acquaintance  with  certain  worldly 
matters  that  would  have  made  most  grandmothers 
gasp. 

"Nothing  doing  in  that  living  together  line  for  me, 
Slim,"  she  replied  in  a  matter-of-fact  voice.  "  I  Ve  seen 
too  often  how  it  works  out  for  the  girl.  She  thinks  it's 
going  fine  for  a  while  —  then  the  man  drops  her.  Then 
the  next  man  drops  her.  Soon  she 's  on  the  toboggan  — 
and  booze  or  coke  has  got  her.  That's  the  way  it'll 
likely  be  with  Daisy  White  —  oh,  I  know  how  it's  been 
between  you  and  her  —  no  use  wasting  a  lie  on  me." 
She  shook  her  head  in  precocious  wisdom.  "No,  that 
proposition  does  n't  listen  good  to  me,  Slim.  If  ever  I 
go  along  with  a  man,  a  wedding  ring's  going  along,  too, 
and  it's  going  to  be  on  my  hand." 

"That's  O.K.  with  me,  Jennie.  I'll  be  tickled  to 
marry  you.  That's  settled.  But  listen,  Jen  —  there's 
even  more  to  the  proposition.  Down  here  the  checks 
we've  put  over,  they've  had  to  be  small  because  we 
were  among  small  people.  But  when  we  get  to  the  top, 
where  there  are  people  with  real  bank  accounts,  we'll 
put  across  some  whales  —  and  do  it  so  clever  no  one  will 
even  guess  who's  doing  the  job.  I  tell  you,  Jennie,  you 
are  sure  one  born  wonder  with  the  pen!  Now,  how 
about  it?  Of  course  I'll  marry  you  —  and  we'll  go  up 
—  way  up!  What  d'  you  say?" 

She  smiled  at  him  superciliously  —  with  an  immense 
self-confidence.  Her  reply  came  in  a  drawl. 


38  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"  I  say  that  I  am  going  up,  too  —  way  up.  Only,  Slim 
—  you  and  I  are  not  going  up  together!" 

"But  I  said  I  'd  marry  you!"  he  exclaimed. 

"And  I  '11  say  now,  Slim,"  she  went  on  in  her  mocking 
drawl,  "that  I  would  n't  marry  you  if  you  were  twice 
as  big  as  your  biggest  dreams." 

For  a  moment  he  stood  stock-still,  gazing  at  her. 
He  really  cared  for  her,  and  his  great  plans  had  not 
included  the  possibility  of  such  a  rebuff.  Then  his  lean 
cheeks  flushed. 

"Damn  you!"  and  he  sprang  forward  and  threw  his 
arms  around  her. 

In  him  was  an  uprushing  desire  to  avenge  her  insult 
by  inflicting  bodily  suffering  which  would  leave  no 
telltale  marks  as  evidence,  as  blows  unfortunately  do; 
he  thought  of  a  clever,  excruciating  twist  of  the  arm 
with  which  he  was  well  acquainted.  Jennie  made  no 
outcry ;  she  was  quick  enough  of  wit  to  know  that  a  call 
for  help  would  result  in  her  father  getting  word  of  this 
meeting,  and  she  wanted  no  such  outcome.  She  was 
quick  and  strong,  and  for  a  few  silent  moments  she 
fought  him  to  a  standstill. 

Then  his  dark  mood  passed,  and  he  laughed  softly. 
"  I  'm  going  to  marry  you  all  the  same,  Jennie.  Just  now 
all  I  want  is  a  kiss." 

A  kiss  was  an  ordinary  matter;  she  had  let  Harry 
Edwards  kiss  her  without  thinking  much  about  it  other 
than  that  she  rather  liked  it.  But  Slim  she  continued 
to  fight  with  the  same  determined  energy.  Presently 
she  wrenched  her  right  hand  free  —  it  still  clutched  the 
money  he  had  given  her  —  and  drove  her  fist  into  his 
reaching  lips. 

He  loosened  her  and  fell  back  at  the  pain  of  the  un- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


expected  blow,  and  swore  in  a  suppressed  voice.  She 
ran  up  the  stairway,  and  then  realizing  that  she  was 
not  being  pursued,  she  turned  and  called  down  in  a 
taunting  whisper  : 

"That's  the  gentlest  kiss  you'll  ever  get  from  me, 
Slim  Jackson!" 

With  his  whispered  answer  there  came  a  soft  laugh. 
41  1  like  you  all  the  better  for  your  pep,  Jennie!  And 
just  remember  —  we  're  going  to  the  top  together,  you 
and  I!" 

He  laughed  softly  again  and  disappeared  into  the 
cafe.  She  mounted  the  stairs  to  the  landing,  paused  a 
moment  to  arrange  her  dress  and  hair  and  to  regain  an 
even  breath;  then  casually  she  opened  the  door  and 
stepped  into  the  sitting-room  where  Harry  still  awaited 
her. 


CHAPTER  IV 

JENNIE  FACES  AN  ORDEAL 

JENNIE  closed  the  door  behind  her  and  crossed  the 
room  in  a  manner  that  was  the  perfection  of  the 
usual.  Harry  laid  aside  the  magazine  he  had  been 
reading  and  stood  up. 

"You  were  gone  a  long  time  to  be  talking  to  a  mere 
father,"  he  grumbled  good-naturedly. 

"Dad'd  gone  out,  and  I  waited  for  him  in  his  office, 
and  even  yet  he  has  n't  come  back."  Her  next  words 
were  spoken  as  if  the  idea  had  just  come  to  her,  though 
she  had  thought  of  it  while  regaining  her  breath  outside 
the  door.  "Harry,  I  need  some  money,  need  it  now,  and 
I  don't  like  to  ask  dad  for  it.  I  wonder  if  you  could  loan 
it  to  me?" 

"Sure,"  was  the  prompt  reply.    "How  much?" 

"Twelve  dollars  and  a  half." 

"Will  that  be  plenty?" 

"I  don't  need  a  cent  more." 

He  counted  the  amount  and  handed  it  to  her.  She 
took  it  in  her  left  hand,  the  other  hand  already  holding 
the  like  amount  she  had  received  from  Slim  Jackson. 

"Thanks,  Harry;  you're  a  good  boy,  and  if  you  don't 
mind,  I  wish  you  would  n't  say  anything  about  this.  I 
don't  want  dad  to  learn  I  Ve  been  borrowing." 

" I'll  not  say  a  word  —  of  course  not." 

There  was  a  vase  on  the  piano  containing  artificial 
roses.  She  removed  the  flowers  and  into  this  she  slipped 
the  two  sums  she  had  collected,  then  seated  herself  and 
once  more  began  playing  "Oh,  Night  of  Love." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  41 

"Come  on,  Harry,  let's  sing  some  more,"  she  sug- 
gested. "Soft,  so  as  we  won't  wake  auntie." 

They  were  still  singing  when  half  an  hour  later,  the 
door  from  the  stairway  opened,  and  Black  Jerry  en- 
tered followed  by  Uncle  George  and  a  solidly  built  man 
who  carried  a  derby  hat.  Black  Jerry  walked  to  the 
piano  and  glared  at  Jennie,  his  dark  face  fiercely  set,  his 
black  eyes  blazing. 

Jennie  rose.    "What 's  the  matter,  dad?" 

"Damn  you!"  Jerry  said  huskily,  and  his  right  arm 
swung  with  spasmodic  swiftness,  and  his  open  palm 
cracked  against  Jennie's  cheek.  She  toppled  sidewise, 
her  outflung,  saving  hands  striking  a  wild  discord  as 
they  came  down  among  the  piano  keys. 

"You  big  brute,  you!"  cried  Harry,  and  let  drive  at 
him. 

But  Jerry,  seemingly  without  having  looked  at  him, 
caught  his  lunging  arm  by  the  wrist,  holding  him  help- 
less. 

Jennie  came  to  her  feet  and  pushed  between  the  two 
men. 

"Keep  out  of  this,  Harry!"  she  ordered.  "He's  got 
a  right  to  hit  me  if  he  wants  to.  Dad,  what 's  that  for?  " 

"For  that  phony  Morrison  check  —  that  check  you 
forged!" 

"Dad  —  I  don't  know  what  you're  talking  about." 

"Lies  don't  go  between  you  and  me,  Jennie  —  get 
that!"  Black  Jerry  gritted  at  her.  "You  tell  the  truth. 
You  might  as  well,  for  Casey  here  has  the  goods  on  you." 

Jennie  looked  sharply  at  the  man  from  Headquarters, 
trying  to  pierce  to  the  knowledge  that  might  lie  behind 
the  professional  mask  of  his  heavy,  non-committal  face. 
But  she  said  nothing. 


42  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Tell  her,  Casey,"  Jerry  commanded. 

"Sorry  about  this,  Jerry,"  Casey  said  apologetically 
—  "but  you  know  I  gotta  go  through  with  anything 
that's  put  up  to  me."  He  stepped  toward  Jennie.  "I 
suspected  you  from  the  first,  though  I  did  n't  tell  your 
father  so.  I  'd  already  learned  how  clever  you  were  at 
imitating  other  folks'  handwriting.  Well,  I  got  something 
on  your  father's  cashier,  never  mind  what.  I  put  the 
screws  on  him  to-night,  and  he  told  me  he'd  seen  you, 
when  you  thought  he  was  n't  about,  take  the  original 
Morrison  check  out  of  the  cash  register  —  and  then 
about  an  hour  later  he  saw  you  slip  it  back.  And  then 
I  have  the  testimony  of  the  grocery  store  where  you 
cashed  it ;  the  owner  says  you  're  the  party  that  shoved 
the  check  across.  And  I  have  a  lot  more  evidence." 

"He's  got  you  —  I  know  it,"  Jerry  growled  at  her. 
"And  it's  going  to  be  a  lot  easier  all  around  if  you  come 
across  clean." 

She  considered  the  situation  rapidly  for  a  moment, 
gazing  from  her  father  to  the  detective.  Then,  "All 
right —  I  did  it,"  she  admitted  sullenly. 

"Jennie,  I  'm  surprised  at  you ! "  put  in  Uncle  George. 
"The  forgery  was  clever  work,  all  right,  but  all  the  rest 
was  pretty  rotten,  Jennie  —  pretty  rotten."  He  shook 
his  head  sadly.  Uncle  George,  in  the  days  before  his  re- 
tirement, had  been  an  artist;  and  at  this  moment  his 
dominant  feeling  was  an  artist's  impatience  with  clumsy 
work. 

"How'd  you  get  the  check?"  demanded  Jerry. 

She  remembered  Slim's  request  and  her  own  promise. 
"Mr.  Morrison  was  drinking,  you  know,  and  he  must 
have  dropped  his  check-book.  I  tore  out  a  check,  and 
then  a  waiter  gave  the  book  back  to  him." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  PForlds  43 

"Anybody  in  the  game  with  you?"  inquired  Casey. 

Again  her  answer  was  guided  by  Slim's  request:  " No, 
I  did  it  all  alone." 

Once  more  Black  Jerry's  wrath  surged  up.  And  in 
Jerry's  inchoate,  inarticulate  soul,  a  sense  that  a  wrong 
had  been  done,  a  law  broken,  was  no  element  in  his 
wrath.  The  few  who  knew  Jerry  most  intimately  knew 
him  as  a  "straight  guy " ;  but  for  him  there  was  no  right 
or  wrong  —  the  sole  meaning  of  this  to  him  was  that 
something  had  happened  which  was  violently  contrary 
to  his  interests  and  his  desires  for  Jennie. 

"You  damned  little  fool!"  he  burst  out. 

Again  he  raised  his  hand.  She  stepped  swiftly  back; 
the  angered  palm  fell  to  his  side,  clenching  and  un- 
clenching. 

"Don't  be  too  sore,  dad,"  she  argued  rapidly.  "You  're 
not  going  to  lose  anything."  She  turned  and  lifted  the 
artificial  roses  from  the  jar  on  the  piano,  recovered  the 
money,  and  held  it  out  to  her  father.  "  I  heard  you  say 
you  were  going  to  square  this  case.  There 's  the  twenty- 
five  dollars  —  I  have  n't  spent  a  cent  of  it.  Take  it  and 
square  that  Mr.  Morrison." 

He  looked  at  her  grimly.  "Mr.  Morrison  won't  be 
squared." 

"But  I  thought—" 

"So  did  I,  but  I  just  learned  that  Morrison  don't  care 
about  the  money.  He 's  sore  and  wants  to  prosecute  to 
the  limit." 

"Then  —  then  —  "  Jennie  stopped,  bewildered. 

Casey  moved  to  her  side.  "Sorry,  but  I  guess  you'll 
have  to  come  along  with  me." 

"You  mean  —  I'm  pinched?" 

"Yes.  Better  put  on  your  hat  and  coat.  We'll  be 


44  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

going  right  over  to  the  Women's  Night  Court.  We  got 
a  taxi  waiting  below.  I  don't  want  to  make  a  scene  if  I 
can  help  it." 

She  hesitated,  still  bewildered  by  the  turn  events  had 
taken.  Her  glances  shifted  about  the  four  men,  then 
rested  on  Harry.  The  young  man  was  staring  at  her, 
with  loose  jaw,  taken  aback  by  the  revelation  of  her 
forgery,  and  by  the  manner  in  which  a  little  earlier  she 
had  secured  a  loan  from  him,  and  by  her  easy  prevarica- 
tion concerning  that  money. 

Jennie  turned  and  went  into  her  bedroom,  and  pres- 
ently she  reentered  dressed  to  leave;  and  in  another 
minute  she  and  her  father  and  Uncle  George  and  Casey 
were  out  upon  the  sidewalk  —  a  cold  rain  was  misting 
drearily  down — and  Casey  was  pressing  her  before  them 
into  the  taxicab.  She  was  thoroughly  frightened.  Sus- 
pense and  vivid  apprehensions  shot  her  wildly  through. 
What  was  about  to  happen  ?  Courts  —  prisons !  What 
would  the  judge  do  to  her? 

But  frightened  as  she  was,  even  so  her  self-confidence 
did  not  all  desert  her.  She  sat  up  very  rigid  in  her 
corner,  and  listened  to  the  talk  of  the  men  as  the  car 
jolted  over  granite-paved  streets.  She  learned  that 
Uncle  George  had  already  telephoned  a  lawyer  to  be 
waiting  at  the  Jefferson  Market  Court.  Black  Jerry 
and  Uncle  George,  with  occasional  advice  from  the 
friendly  Central  Office  detective,  discussed  what  would 
be  the  wisest  procedure,  whether  to  have  an  immediate 
trial,  or  waive  examination  and  have  the  case  held  for 
the  Court  of  Special  Sessions. 

"Better  have  Jennie  stand  trial  to-night,"  argued 
Uncle  George,  who  had  the  wisdom  of  long  experience 
in  such  matters.  "That'll  give  her  two  trials:  two 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  45 

chances  —  see?  The  judge  to-night  may  be  easy  on 
her,  and  let  her  off.  On  the  other  hand,  the  worst  he  can 
do  is  to  hold  her  for  Special  Sessions." 

To  that  Jerry  agreed. 

"And,  of  course,  the  wise  thing  is  for  her  to  plead 
guilty  and  throw  herself  on  the  mercy  of  the  court," 
Uncle  George  went  on.  "And  you,  Jerry,  you'd  better 
keep  as  much  out  of  it  as  you  can  —  you  can't  help  much ; 
and  I  '11  do  the  same.  We'll  leave  it  up  to  the  lawyer." 

The  car  stopped  and  they  all  got  out  into  the  rain 
before  a  dingy  red  building.  Overhead  an  Elevated  train 
went  thundering  through  the  night. 

"Understand  what  you're  to  do,  Jennie?"  queried 
Uncle  George. 

"Yes,"  said  Jennie. 

At  the  last  moment  the  old  man  could  not  forego  giv- 
ing further  words  to  his  provoked  artistic  sense.  "It 
was  raw  work,  Jennie,  awfully  raw  work.  .  .  .  But  re- 
member —  keep  your  head  in  there." 

She  felt  Casey  slip  a  hand  under  her  arm,  and  guided 
by  him  she  went  up  through  the  wide  portals  of  the 
building,  across  the  rear  of  the  court-room,  and  through 
a  passage  into  a  grimy  chamber  in  which  some  ten  or 
a  dozen  women  lounged  about  awaiting  trial.  For  all  her 
sense  of  impending  personal  disaster,  Jennie  looked  her 
fellow-prisoners  over  quickly.  A  few  were  bedraggled, 
hats  awry,  with  skirts  rudely  dissociated  from  waists, 
and  others  had  high-colored,  bold-eyed  faces.  Cir- 
cumstances had  acquainted  Jennie  with  a  wide  area  of 
life,  and  she  knew  what  these  women  were  charged  with. 
She  was  not  shocked ;  this  was  the  way  things  were ;  but 
she  drew  apart  from  the  others  with  instinctive  repug- 
nance. 


46  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

She  was  not  here  long.  Casey  had  promised  expedi- 
tion, and  ten  minutes  later  he  led  her  into  a  great,  high- 
ceilinged  room  that  to  her  alert  eyes  seemed  a  small, 
packed  theater.  She  heard  an  official  in  brass  buttons 
call  her  name  and  she  was  pressed  up  before  a  long, 
counter-like  affair  behind  which,  beneath  a  drop-light, 
sat  a  man  in  a  black  robe  who  did  not  even  look  up  — 
so  that  all  Jennie  saw  of  her  judge  was  his  black  shoul- 
ders, a  hand  that  rapidly  signed  endless  documents,  and 
a  luminous  bald  head.  She  heard  the  official  mechani- 
cally chew  out  a  speech  with  remarkable  rapidity  and 
unintelligibility,  ending  with  "Are  you  ready  for  trial 
now?" 

"Yes,"  quavered  Jennie. 

A  man  who  had  appeared  at  Jennie's  side  spoke  up 
quickly,  persuasively. 

"Your  Honor,  my  client  admits  her  guilt,  and  we  stand 
perfectly  ready  to  make  immediate  restitution  of  the 
amount  which  she  came  into  illegal  possession  of.  Your 
Honor,  the  defendant  is  only  sixteen,  what  she  did  was 
her  first  offense,  and  she  did  it  in  one  of  the  irresponsi- 
ble moments  of  childhood  without  realizing  the  gravity 
of  her  act.  I  therefore  suggest  to  your  Honor  that  you 
permit  us  to  make  restitution,  and  that  you  severely 
reprimand  the  prisoner  and  dismiss  her  and  give  her 
another  chance  upon  her  definite  promise  — " 

"Judge,  I  won't  stand  for  anything  of  the  sort!"  de- 
clared a  voice  on  the  other  side  of  the  bailiff  —  a  voice 
Jennie  knew  to  be  Mr.  Morrison's. 

At  this  the  magistrate  for  the  first  time  looked  up 
from  the  papers  he  had  been  signing.  He  had  tired, 
blase  eyes  with  tiny  purple  folds  beneath  them  and 
wrinkled  skin  where  full  jowls  must  once  have  swayed. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  47 

His  faculties,  trained  to  quick  observation,  instantane- 
ously noted  three  points :  first,  that  Jennie  was  young  and 
well-dressed  and  pretty  —  obviously  this  was  an  affair 
differing  from  the  disorderly  cases  which  constituted  his 
nightly  grind;  second,  that  a  city  press  reporter  was 
pushing  near;  and  third,  that  out  in  the  audience  was 
a  group  of  uptown  ladies,  perhaps  wives  of  important 
men,  such  as  every  night  appeared  in  court  seeking  sen- 
sation. The  magistrate  instantly  sensed  a  chance  for 
publicity ;  few  things  help  so  well  to  establish  the  repu- 
tation which  leads  to  higher  judicial  positions  as  frequent 
and  striking  appearance  in  the  papers. 

" I'll  see  what  there  is  in  this  case,"  he  said.  "Officer 
Casey,  take  the  stand." 

Casey  did  so.  Eyes  on  him,  Jennie  hardly  breathed, 
but  Casey  made  his  testimony  as  lenient  as  he  dared. 
He  even  referred  to  Black  Jerry  merely  as  "Mr.  Ma- 
lone,"  and  to  the  Pekin  merely  as  "a  restaurant." 

Jennie  was  then  ordered  to  the  stand.  Sitting  on  high 
at  the  magistrate's  elbow  she  was  a-tremble  with  fright 
—  stage-fright  and  the  more  fundamental  fear  as  to 
what  was  going  to  happen  to  her.  Her  eyes  swept  out 
over  the  crowd :  she  saw  her  father  and  Uncle  George 
sitting  obscurely  in  the  back  seat  of  the  court-room ;  and 
nearer  to  her  she  picked  out  the  pale  face  of  Harry 
Edwards. 

She  pulled  herself  together  and  faced  the  magistrate, 
her  quick  wits  having  come  back  to  her.  She  was  afraid, 
but  she  acted  more  afraid  than  she  really  was,  and  also 
more  contrite.  In  response  to  the  magistrate's  ques- 
tioning, she  made  her  confession  just  as  she  had  made  it 
a  little  earlier  to  her  father  and  Uncle  George,  leaving 
Slim  Jackson  entirely  out  of  the  affair. 


48  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"  You  know  what  you  have  been  guilty  of?"  the  mag- 
istrate demanded  with  impressive  severity  when  she 
had  ended. 

"Yes,"  answered  Jennie. 

"You  have  been  guilty  of  forgery.  You  are  a  young 
girl  and  I  hope  this  will  be  a  lesson  to  you.  Are  your 
parents  living?" 

"My  father  is,  sir." 

"Is  he  in  court?" 

"I  think  not,  sir." 

1 ' Officer  Casey  "  •  —  severely  —  ' '  why  did  n't  you 
notify  this  girl's  father  to  be  in  court?" 

"I  believe  he  is  here,  your  Honor,"  Casey  had  to 
admit. 

The  magistrate  gave  Jennie  a  sharp  glance.  Then  he 
spoke  to  his  bailiff. 

"Find  this  girl's  father  and  bring  him  to  me." 

A  minute  later  Black  Jerry  was  pushed  through  the 
gate  in  the  railing  and  up  before  the  desk.  At  sight  of 
him  the  magistrate  stared. 

"Why,  it's  Jerry  Malone!  —  Black  Jerry!"  he  ex- 
claimed. 

He  saw  that  the  reporter  was  leaning  eagerly  over  his 
desk  and  that  the  uptown  ladies  were  excitedly  attentive. 
He  was  a  judge  who  roared  righteously  from  the  bench 
when  effective  and  safe  opportunity  was  offered;  and 
this  was  developing  into  an  unusual  chance  for  de- 
sirable publicity.  His  tired,  routine  voice  sounded  out 
sharply,  clearly,  so  that  it  reached  throughout  the  court- 
room. 

"Black  Jerry!"  he  repeated.  "That  changes  the  case 
entirely!  Jerry  Malone  —  the  notorious,  the  infamous 
Black  Jerry ! "  He  fairly  hammered  Jerry  with  his  words. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  49 

"Do  you  think  you  are  fit  to  have  a  child  under  your 
care?  Your  influence  is  enough  to  ruin  any  child!  No 
wonder  this  girl  forged  that  check !  And  Heavens,  man," 
he  drove  on,  "just  being  known  as  the  child  of  Black 
Jerry  is  enough  to  ruin  any  girl's  chances,  even  if  she 
wants  to  be  decent!  Being  known  as  your  child,  that  is 
enough  to  stamp  her  with  a  bad  name  — •  that  is  enough 
to  make  decent  people  want  to  keep  away  from  her!" 

"Your  Honor — "  began  Black  Jerry  huskily. 

"Silent!"  The  magistrate  pounded  his  desk  with  his 
gavel.  "And  who  knows,  Jerry  Malone,  that  you  were 
not  behind  all  this,  putting  the  girl  up  to  it!  A  reform 
school  may  be  what  your  daughter  needs  —  anyhow, 
she  ought  to  be  taken  out  of  your  custody.  I  'm  going  to 
hold  this  case  for  further  examination  —  to  examine  into 
the  character  of  the  girl,  and  to  examine  into  your  part 
in  this  affair,  Black  Jerry.  This  court  stands  for  wiping 
out  the  practice  of  an  old  crook  teaching  his  child  to  be- 
come a  crook,  too!"  And  then  with  a  louder  thwack  of 
his  hammer:  "Prisoner  held  for  further  examination  on 
the  charge  of  forgery,  bail  one  thousand  dollars!  Next 
case!" 

"But,  your  Honor!"  the  lawyer  tried  to  protest. 

"Next  case!"  roared  the  magistrate. 

That  was  all.  Jennie  shrank  down  from  the  witness 
stand.  She  saw  some  bills  come  out  of  the  big  wallet  of 
Uncle  George,  and  she  saw  these  bills  pass  to  the  lawyer, 
and  then  pass  to  a  man  behind  a  grilled  enclosure  beside 
the  magistrate.  Some  papers  were  signed,  and  then  she 
followed  Black  Jerry  up  the  aisle,  all  eyes  staring  at 
them,  and  out  of  the  court-room. 

Uncle  George  had  a  taxicab  waiting,  and  into  a  corner 
of  this  Jennie  huddled  herself.  The  three  of  them  were 


5O  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

silent,  but  now  and  then  she  glanced  covertly  at  her 
father.  His  dark  face  was  set,  glowering.  She  sensed  that 
there  was  something  going  on  behind  that  grim  face, 
and  all  the  way  home  she  wondered  what  that  something 
might  be. 


CHAPTER  V 

TWO  MEN  PLAN  A  LIFE 

UNCLE  GEORGE,  you  and  Jennie  go  on  up- 
stairs," said  Jerry  when  the  taxicab  had  returned 
them  to  the  Pekin,  and  they  had  entered  the 
hallway.  "  I  '11  be  up  in  a  minute  —  I  gotta  pass  an  eye 
over  how  things  are  going  in  my  joint." 

He  stepped  through  the  side  door  and  peered  through 
the  screens.  To  the  hard-working  music  of  his  two- 
piece  orchestra,  general  dancing  was  in  progress ;  and  as 
far  as  he  could  see,  there  was  that  atmosphere  of  hilari- 
ous, evil-seeming  abandon,  behind  which  was  a  strict 
observance  of  the  letter  of  the  law,  that  he  had  so  care- 
fully worked  out  as  the  character  of  his  establishment. 
He  slipped  around  the  rear  of  the  big  room,  spoke  to  the 
cashier  and  examined  the  receipts,  which  were  excellent, 
spoke  to  his  manager,  and  was  back  behind  the  screens 
on  his  way  out,  when  a  hand  touched  his  arm.  Turning, 
he  saw  Slim  Jackson. 

"Just  heard  Jennie  got  pinched  and  hustled  off  to 
court,"  said  Slim  in  a  low  voice,  from  which  he  man- 
aged to  suppress  any  concern  as  to  his  own  person. 
"How'd  it  come  out?" 

"Has  n't  come  out  yet,"  Jerry  returned  shortly. 

"But  was  n't  there  a  trial?  Did  n't  Jennie  have  to 
take  the  stand?" 

"Yes." 

"Anybody  in  it  with  her?  Did  she  say?" 

"Said  she'd  done  the  whole  thing  herself.  But  what 
business  is  that  of  yours?"  Jerry  demanded  gruffly. 


52  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"I  guess  I  can't  help  being  interested  in  what  hap- 
pens to  Jennie,  even  if  you  do  happen  to  be  sore  at  me." 

His  manner  and  tone  were  those  of  unjustly  under- 
rated and  suspected  friendship.  Black  Jerry  turned 
abruptly  and  went  out.  Friendship  vanished  from  Slim's 
handsome  face;  on  it  appeared  a  great  relief;  it  became 
shrewd,  calculating.  He'd  had  a  close  call,  all  right; 
well,  in  the  future  he'd  have  to  be  more  careful. 

Upstairs,  Jerry  closed  the  sitting-room  door  and 
crossed  to  where  Jennie  sat  in  a  large  chair,  and  glow- 
ered silently  down  upon  her.  She  fully  expected  one  of 
those  big  clenching  and  unclenching  hands  to  strike  her. 
She  looked  up  at  him  steadily,  fear  in  her  heart — but 
she  did  not  flinch,  she  did  not  so  much  as  put  up  an  arm 
to  shield  her  head  from  the  blow.  He  had  not  struck 
her  often,  but  when  he  had  she  had  taken  it  as  a  matter 
of  course ;  every  one  was  beaten  sometimes  —  that  was 
just  a  part  of  living.  As  far  as  it  was  in  her  ambitious, 
confident,  cynical,  generous,  self-centered  soul  (hers 
was  just  the  selfishness,  inflated  by  her  young  egotism, 
which  seems  an  inseparable  element  of  youth),  Jennie 
loved  and  admired  her  father  above  any  other  person. 

"Well,  I  hope  you  realize  the  mess  you've  got  us 
into,"  he  grated  at  her. 

"Don't  hit  the  kid,  Jerry,"  interrupted  Uncle  George. 
He  still  spoke  as  the  artist  provoked  by  an  inferior  per- 
formance, but  he  also  spoke  palliatingly.  "It  was  raw 
work,  sure  —  and  she  should  have  had  more  sense  than 
to  try  to  pull  any  such  stunt.  But  we  were  all  young 
once  —  we  were  all  crude  workers  —  we  all  made  our 
bonehead  plays." 

Black  Jerry  did  not  reply  to  this  attempted  mediation. 
He  continued  glowering  at  Jennie,  his  hands  working, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  53 

his  deep  chest  rising  and  falling  —  until  there  was  a 
knocking  at  the  door. 

"Come  in!"  he  said  curtly. 

The  door  opened  and  Harry  Edwards  entered.  The 
young  fellow's  quick  breathing  showed  either  hurry  or 
excitement,  or  both, 

"Now,  what  the  hell  do  you  want?"  exploded  Black 
Jerry. 

"I  was  at  the  trial,  Jerry,"  the  young  fellow  said 
rapidly,  "and  I  heard  what  the  judge  said.  You  know 
—  about  you  not  being  a  fit  person  to  have  the  custody 
of  Jennie  —  about  his  perhaps  taking  her  away  from 
you  —  about  perhaps  putting  her  in  an  institution." 

"  Well,  what  of  it?"  demanded  Jerry. 

"You  know  that  I  know,  Jerry,"  the  high-wrought 
young  fellow  went  on  earnestly,  "that  what  that  bum 
of  a  judge  said  about  you  is  all  bunk.  I  know  what  you 
really  are,  and  I  know  you  're  all  right.  But  what  the 
judge  said  about  you,  he  really  thinks;  and  that's  what 
the  world  thinks  of  you  —  and  he'll  take  Jennie  away 
from  you,  somehow,  as  sure  as  shooting!" 

Harry  stepped  nearer;  his  whole  body  was  tense 
with  excited  purpose.  "But  listen,  Jerry  —  that  judge 
would  n't  take  Jemfie  away  from  me!" 

' '  From  you ! "  Jerry  exclaimed.  ' '  What  are  you  driv- 
ing at?" 

"Let  Jennie  and  me  get  married." 

"What!" 

"Don't  you  see?"  urged  Harry.  "They've  got  noth- 
ing against  me,  and  I  Ve  got  a  good  job —  and  if  I  were 
married  to  her,  they  'd  never  send  her  away.  That  'd  really 
be  the  same  as  your  keeping  her,  Jerry.  To  make  it  all 
safe,  we  could  be  married  the  first  thing  in  the  morning! " 


54  -A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Black  Jerry  stared  at  the  eager  young  face.  "You 
want  to  do  this  because  you  want  to  save  Jennie?" 

"Yes.  And  also  because  —  "  He  broke  off,  flushing; 
it  was  hard  to  say  the  thing  in  public  like  this.  But  he 
braced  himself  and  spoke.  "  I  also  want  to  do  it  because 
I  love  Jennie." 

"Oh,  you  do!"  Jerry  gazed  at  him  fixedly,  his  coal- 
black  eyes  piercingly  keen.  After  a  moment  he  spoke, 
and  shortly: 

"Nothing  doing  in  that  line,  young  fellow.  I  got 
some  ideas  of  my  own  —  very  different  ideas.  And  as 
we  've  got  some  business  to  talk  over,  I  guess  you  won't 
mind  our  excusing  you."  He  firmly  pressed  the  be- 
wildered Harry  backwards  and  opened  the  door.  "Good- 
night," he  said  roughly.  And  then  suddenly  he  gripped 
the  other's  hand.  "I  guess  you  're  a  pretty  decent  guy, 
Harry." 

But  before  Harry  could  recover  and  speak,  the  door 
had  been  closed  upon  him.  Black  Jerry  turned  about. 

" Now,  we  gotta  talk  about  what  we're  going  to  do," 
he  said  brusquely. 

Jennie  rose,  and  started  for  her  bedroom.  "  I  suppose 
you'd  like  me  out  of  the  way." 

"You  stay  right  where  you  are,"  Jerry  ordered.  "This 
talk's  going  to  be  about  what's  going  to  happen  to 
you,  and  you  might  as  well  ~et  it  first-hand.  When  we 
want  anything  from  you,  we'll  ask  you  —  till  then  you 
keep  still." 

She  sank  down  into  the  big  chair  and  drew  herself 
back,  as  small  as  possible,  into  a  corner;  and,  a  mere 
spectator,  she  looked  on  with  fearing,  expectant,  bright 
eyes  at  what  was  to  be  the  unfoldment  of  her  fate.  Black 
Jerry  sat  down  for  the  first  time,  and  Uncle  George  drew 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


out  a  long  cigar,  lighted  it,  and  eyed  its  end  medita- 
tively. There  was  a  brief  silence  —  the  cuckoo  stepped 
out  of  its  abode  and  chirped  one  o'clock  —  and  then 
again  there  was  silence  about  the  three. 

Uncle  George  was  the  first  to  speak.  "Now,  don't 
you  worry  too  much,  Jerry,"  he  advised.  "This  case 
—  why,  it's  nothing/' 

"It's  a  damned  big  thing!  —  the  biggest  thing  that 
ever  happened ! "  came  from  Jerry  as  a  muffled  explosion. 

"Why,  Jerry!"  expostulated  the  old  man.  "I  tell  you 
we'll  get  her  off  easy.  We'll  fight  the  case,  and  I  know 
some  mighty  strong  political  influence  we  can  get  be- 
hind us  —  Sam  Conway  '11  help  me  if  we  need  him. 
About  Jennie's  being  convicted,  or  taken  away  from 
you,  don't  you  worry  a  minute  about  that,  Jerry!" 

"That's  not  worrying  me.  I  wasn't  even  thinking 
about  that  when  I  said  it  was  a  big  thing.  It's  big 
because  of  what  it  means  —  what  it  makes  me  see." 

"Makes  you  see?  "queried  Uncle  George.  "See  what?" 

Jerry's  dark  face  was  flushed;  again  his  breath  was 
coming  deeply  and  unevenly.  Before  him  were  matters 
about  which  it  had  always  been  hard  for  him  to  speak  — 
matters  relating  to  the  emotions.  In  the  past,  the  undis- 
covered and  unrecognized  forces  of  his  crude  being  had 
vaguely  yet  powerfully  sensed  big  ideas,  and  insensibly 
the  ideas  had  grown  into  plans;  all  had  been  undefined, 
incoherent  —  yet  latently  all  had  been  there.  And  now, 
almost  suddenly,  what  had  been  vague  was  growing  clear, 
and  those  great  stirrings  were  becoming  painfully  defi- 
nite. He  strove  to  keep  the  flood  swelling  up  in  him  under 
his  control,  but  it  burst  the  bonds  of  his  restraint  —  all 
poured  from  him  at  once.  But  even  so  he  spoke  defen- 
sively, defiantly,  as  though  what  were  being  exposed 


56  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

might  be  unmanly  and  as  though  he  challenged  any  one 
to  laugh  at  him. 

"Well,  I  got  a  right  to  like  my  own  kid,  ain't  I?  I  got 
as  much  right  as  any  other  man,  no  matter  how  damned 
good  he  thinks  he  is!  And  I  got  a  right  to  be  proud  of 
my  own  kid,  too  —  ain't  I?" 

"Sure  you  have,  Jerry,  sure  you  have,"  agreed  Uncle 
George  appeasingly,  though  bewildered. 

Jennie,  hunched  back  in  her  corner,  held  her  sharp 
eyes  in  wonderment  upon  the  unmatched  sight  of  her 
eruptively  emotional  father. 

"You  bet  I  got  a  right  to  be  proud  of  my  kid.  I 
already  said  a  part  of  this  to  you  to-night,  Uncle 
George.  No  man's  kid  has  got  a  right  to  anything 
better  than  my  kid,  and  I  Ve  always  thought,  these  last 
few  years,  anyway,  that  sometime,  somehow,  I  was 
going  to  give  Jennie  as  good  a  chance  as  any  other 
kid.  I  got  a  little  dough,  and  Jennie's  clever  —  so  why 
not?  I've  seen  the  uptown  kids.  Those  uptown  kids 
with  their  damned  nurses,  and  their  damned  parks,  and 
their  damned  everything  else  that 's  swell  —  they  Ve 
got  all  the  chances,  but  they  ain't  got  no  more  right 
to  a  good  chance  than  Jennie.  And  Jennie"  —  with  an 
emphasis  that  mounted  to  fierceness — "By  God, 
Jennie's  going  to  be  something  big!  I  don't  know  what 
it's  going  to  be;  but,  you  hear  me,  it's  going  to  be  some- 
thing big!  Jennie's  going  to  have  her  big  chance!" 

Uncle  George  nodded  nis  head.  He  was  surprised  at 
this  flaming  outburst  of  pride  and  purpose  —  but  not 
greatly  surprised;  the  world  in  all  its  phases  had  been 
the  object  of  his  philosophic  observation  (and  in  earlier 
days  the  source  of  his  subtly  acquired  income)  and  he 
was  equably  prepared  for  any  personal  revelations  or 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  57 

any  twists  of  fate.  But  Jennie,  drawn  up  tensely,  gazed 
with  parted  lips  at  Black  Jerry.  Never  before  had  she 
seen  her  father  like  this ;  and  his  ringing  words  stirred  a 
leaping  desire  in  her. 

"Every  kid  has  a  right  to  have  a  chance,"  Jerry's  un- 
loosed torrent  of  words  rushed  on.  "But  what  kind  of  a 
chance  —  I  mean  a  real  chance,  a  big  chance,  the  kind 
them  uptown  kids  have  —  does  a  kid  down  here  have? 
None  at  all!  I've  been  thinking  of  that  a  lot  lately. 
But  what  happened  to-night  has  made  everything  a 
thousand  times  clearer.  Down  here  is  no  place  for 
Jennie.  If  she  stays  down  here,  mixing  in  with  the  kind 
of  people  she's  sure  to  mix  with  around  my  place,  she's 
bound  to  become  a  crook.  I  ain't  got  anything  much 
against  crooks,  but  it's  a  poor  line  for  a  woman.  It 
don't  get  her  anywhere,  and  she  always  has  a  rotten 
finish." 

Never  before  had  Black  Jerry  spoken  at  such  length. 
And  conscious  only  of  his  own  troubles,  he  was  not 
aware  that  in  much  of  what  he  said  he  was  roughly 
voicing  the  problems  and  aspirations  of  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  inarticulate  others. 

"Yes,  she's  absolutely  sure  to  become  a  crook  if  she 
stays  down  here  —  that's  plain,"  he  went  on.  He 
paused,  his  big  chest  rose  from  a  mighty  swallow,  and 
he  grimly  drove  out  his  next  sentences.  "And  that  ain't 
all.  I  wanted  to  punch  that  booze-soaked  judge  for 
what  he  said  about  me  to-night  —  but  after  all,  that  old 
goat  had  the  proposition  sized  up  just  about  right.  He 
said  it  was  enough  to  drag  any  girl  down,  having  me 
for  a  father,  and  no  matter  how  high  up  Jennie  got, 
it  would  smash  everything  when  people  learned  she 
was  the  daughter  of  Black  Jerry  M alone.  There,"  he 


58  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

ended,  "is  the  whole  lay-out.  And  it  certainly  is  one 
mess!" 

Uncle  George  blinked.  The  gigantic  earnestness  of 
Black  Jerry  was  a  thing  for  even  him  to  marvel  at. 
Then  he  slowly  nodded. 

"  It  sure  is  one  God-awful  mess,  Jerry.  What  do  you 
want  to  do?" 

''Ain't  I  already  told  you ! "  Jerry  exclaimed.  "  I  want 
to  get  Jennie  away  from  down  here,  and  I  want  to  fix 
things  so  I  won't  be  a  drag  on  her.  And  I  want  action 
—  before  that  judge  can  butt  in  with  any  court  pro- 
ceedings." 

"I  suppose  you  want  me  to  help  you?" 

"Why  else  would  I  be  telling  you  all  this  junk?"  de- 
manded Jerry  testily.  "Sure  I  want  you  —  you're  the 
smoothest  guy  I  know." 

"I  just  wanted  to  be  certain  you  wanted  me,"  Uncle 
George  returned  evenly.  "Yes,  some  people  do  think 
I  'm  a  smooth  article  "  —  a  bit  complacently  —  ' '  though 
I  've  retired  now,  you  know,  Jerry,  and  am  not  doing 
anything  except  obeying  those  commandments  about 
loving  my  neighbor  as  myself,  and  keeping  my  mitts 
off  his  bank-roll.  But  in  wandering  up  and  down  this 
here  widely  press-agented  civilization  of  ours,  and  in 
meeting  human  nature  with  its  manners  on  and  off, 
and  in  sitting  in  every  kind  of  game,  why,  I  just  natu- 
rally have  picked  up  a  thing  or  two  —  and  everything 
I  Ve  picked  up  is  all  yours,  Jerry.  What  do  you  want 
to  know  first?" 

"I  want  to  know  what's  the  best  thing  to  do!"  Jerry 
fumed  impatiently. 

"Well,  what  do  you  want  Jennie  to  become?" 

"  I  don't,   know.     I   have  n't   thought    about   that. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  59 

What  I  first  want  is  for  her  to  have  a  big  chance  —  as 
good  a  chance  as  any  other  girl,  no  matter  what  the 
other  girl's  name  is,  or  how  much  dough  her  old  man 
has  got.  Jennfe  has  a  right  to  the  same  kind  of  chance." 

"You're  willing  to  play  that  idea  to  the  limit?" 

"I '11  put  all  the  chips  I  got,  or  hope  to  have,  on  that 
play!" 

Wise  old  Uncle  George  saw  that  love  for  and  pride  in 
his  daughter  were  the  dominating  qualities  in  this  man 
that  the  world  saw  as  less  than  human,  and  his  first 
suggestion  was  based  upon  the  probable  desire  of  Jerry 
to  be  with  the  object  of  his  love.  "Well,"  he  said  medi- 
tatively, ' '  some  men  move  away  to  the  end  of  things 
where  people  don't  pay  much  attention  to  what  a  man 
has  been." 

"Nothing  doing,"  returned  Jerry  shortly.  "In  a 
rough,  new  country  Jennie  would  n't  have  the  chance  I 
want  her  to  have  and  she  deserves." 

"Then  you  might  move  to  some  other  city,  and  start 
out  under  a  new  name." 

"What  good  'd  that  do?  "  demanded  Black  Jerry.  "I 
look  like  a  rough  specimen,  and  I  'd  still  be  a  drag  on 
Jennie  —  and  when  people  found  out  who  I  was,  as  they 
would,  it'd  all  be  over.  Might  as  well  stay  right  here. 
Neither  idea  is  any  good,  Uncle  George." 

The  older  man  nodded.  "I  knew  that.  I  merely 
mentioned  'em  to  see  whether  you  were  ready  to  play 
the  real  limit.'" 

"The  real  limit?  What  do  you  mean  by  that?" 

"  If  you  want  Jennie  to  have  that  big  a  chance,  to  go 
away  up  and  become  somebody  —  why,  Jerry,  there's 
only  oneway,  and  that's  for  you  and  her  to  part  com- 
pany. You  stay  Jerry  Malone.  She  becomes  some- 


60  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

body  else,  who  does  n't  even  know  }'ou.  Can  you  stand 
the  gaff?" 

Black  Jerry  looked  over  at  his  daughter,  a  tense, 
breathless  huddle,  with  staring  eyes  of  shining  black. 
Then  he  swallowed. 

"I'll  stand  it.   What's  the  rest  of  the  idea?" 

Uncle  George  ignored  the  question.  "You  might  as 
well  give  her  up  of  your  own  accord,  Jerry,  as  have  that 
judge  take  her  from  you.  .  .  .  What  would  you  yourself 
do?" 

"Me?  I  might  as  well  stay  right  here.  People  know 
me  here,  and  what  they  think  of  me  don't  bother  me  a 
lot.  And  I've  a  good  business;  and  I'll  be  all  right  as 
long  as  I  go  straight  —  and  I  'm  going  to  go  straight." 

"How  much  money  can  you  spare  for  Jennie?" 

"I  guess  you  know  I'm  making  good  coin  here,  and 
you  know  about  how  much.  Me  —  the  ponies,  cards, 
women,  or  booze  don't  interest  me  and  don't  get  any 
of  my  dough;  it  don't  take  much  for  me.  The  rest  of 
what  I  make  Jennie  can  have." 

"That '11  be  plenty." 

Silently  Uncle  George  considered  his  forming  plan. 
That  it  was  based  upon  pretense  did  not  give  him  one 
troubled  thought.  All  his  life  Uncle  George,  and  most 
of  those  with  whom  he  mixed,  had  secured  what  they 
wanted  by  the  use  of  pretense.  Pretense  was  entirely 
the  natural  order  of  life;  pretending — that  was  what 
every  one  was  doing. 

"  Well?"  Jerry  said  impatiently. 

"Don't  be  in  a  hurry,  son,"  said  the  old  man.  "Here's 
the  big  idea:  Jennie's  smart  all  right,  and  she's  a  good 
actor,  and  she  knows  twice  as  much  out  of  books  and 
about  real  things  as  those  swell  uptown  girls.  But 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  6 1 

she 's  sort  of  rough  around  the  edges.   She  needs  finish 

—  manners.    Beginning  to  see  where  we're  heading 
at?" 

"Go  on!"  said  the  impatient  Jerry. 

"Here's  where  we  kill  two  birds  with  one  piece  of 
change.  This  old  town  of  New  York  and  the  little 
towns  about  it  have  got  about  a  thousand  plus  one  or 
two  more  swell  private  schools  for  girls.  I  pick  out  one 
of  the  swellest  of  these  private  schools  —  you  leave  it 
to  me  —  and  I  put  Jennie  into  it.  She'll  be  there  two  or 
three  years,  mebbe  more:  she  gets  the  rough  spots  pol- 
ished off,  and  while  she 's  growing  up  she  makes  a  bunch 
of  swell  girl  friends  —  top-notch  families.  By  the  time 
she 's  through  she '11  be  just  one  of  the  regular  fellows  to 
these  girls;  she'll  just  naturally  belong.  And  after  that 

—  well,  after  that  it  depends  upon  how  clever  Jen- 
nie is." 

There  was  a  sharp  intake  of  Jennie's  breath.  Her 
black  eyes  were  brilliant  with  far-visioning  excitement. 

"I  see,"  said  Black  Jerry.  "But  how 're  you  going 
to  put  that  across?" 

"Jennie's  an  orphan,"  Uncle  George  explained  with 
deliberation.  "Miller  is  her  last  name.  Parents  died 
when  she  was  a  baby.  Brought  up  by  an  uncle,  a  West- 
ern mining  engineer,  who  recently  died.  All  her  life 
she  has  had  to  knock  about  Western  mining  towns  — 
which  will  explain  her  rough  edges.  That's  the  dope 
I  '11  hand  out  to  the  lady-boss  of  the  school  I  pick  out. 
To  her  I  '11  be  Jennie's  guardian  —  though  I  'm  going 
to  keep  out  of  this  game  as  far  as  I  can  —  I  might  queer 
it.  I  '11  tell  the  lady-boss  that  Jennie 's  been  left  some 
money,  and  that  she's  come  East  for  a  real  education. 
Well,  how  does  all  that  listen?" 


62  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"You  were  king  of  them  all  in  your  day,  Uncle 
George,"  Jerry  said  admiringly,  "and  you  ain't  forgot 
a  trick  since.  It  listens  great!  But  how  about  between 
that  school  and  right  here  and  now?" 

"You've  got  to  be  alibied,  Jerry.  Jennie  runs  away 
from  home  —  runs  away  to-night.  That 's  all  you  know 
about  it,  except  that  you  guess  she  got  scared  over  being 
arrested  —  you  have  n't  any  idea  where  she  is.  Stand 
pat  on  that,  and  the  police  and  courts  can't  touch  you 
—  though,  of  course,  Jennie's  bail  will  be  forfeited." 

"  I  '11  square  with  you,  Uncle  George,  for  that  thousand 
you  put  up." 

"Any  time  it  suits  you,  Jerry.  Now,  about  Jennie's 
get-away  from  here  —  you  leave  that  all  to  me.  Well, 
there's  the  whole  proposition.  What  d' you  say?  But 
before  you  answer,  Jerry,  or  you,  Jennie,  remember  that 
if  you  say  'yes'  and  if  this  goes  through,  you  are  seeing 
each  other  to-night  for  the  last  time.  And  if  in  the  years 
ahead  you  ever  should  meet  by  accident,  why,  you  just 
don't  know  each  other." 

Black  Jerry  gazed  fixedly  at  his  daughter;  his  set, 
square  face  paled  to  yellow,  it  could  not  pale  to  white. 
Jennie,  her  breath  suspended,  gazed  back  at  him,  her 
eyes  black  stars. 

At  length  Jerry  spoke.  "It's  a  great  idea,  and  I'm 
for  it,"  he  said  with  a  rigid  calmness. 

"How  about  you,  Jennie?"  Uncle  George  inquired. 

"I  —  I  think  it's  —  it's  wonderful!"  she  breathed. 

"Then  it's  all  settled.  Jennie,  you're  all  right  as  a 
girl  from  a  Western  mining  town  in  the  clothes  you 
have  on.  Just  slip  a  few  little  extra  things  in  a  bag. 
I  '11  put  you  in  some  quiet,  respectable  hotel  for  two  or 
three  days,  until  I've  arranged  about  the  school.  I'll 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  63 

have  a  taxi  waiting  around  the  corner  a  block  north; 
meet  me  there  in  ten  or  fifteen  minutes." 

With  a  few  more  words  of  instruction  Uncle  George 
went  out.  Jerry  and  Jennie  had  risen,  and  they  now 
stood,  face  fixed  on  face,  alone.  A  moment  passed  with- 
out either  moving  or  speaking.  Then  Jerry's  big  chest 
heaved  convulsively,  and  he  reached  out  and  caught 
her  to  him  and  kissed  her  fiercely.  She  clung  tightly 
around  his  neck  and  kissed  him  again  and  again. 

"Jennie!"  he  said  hoarsely — "Jennie!" 

"Oh,  dad  —  dad!"  she  breathed  passionately:  — 
thrillingly  startled,  for  this  was  the  first  time  he  had 
kissed  her  since  he  had  come  out  of  the  Tombs  when 
she  had  been  six. 

"Jennie,"  the  heavy  bass  quavered  on  —  "you're 
the  biggest  thing  in  the  world  to  me! " 

"And  I  love  you  more  than  any  one  else ! ' '  she  sobbed. 

They  stood  in  close,  trembling  embrace  for  a  long 
minute.  Then  almost  roughly  Jerry  removed  her  arms 
and  pushed  her  from  him. 

"I  hope  it  works  out  all  right,  and  you  get  your  big 
chance,"  he  said  gruffly,  and  he  turned  abruptly  and 
went  out  the  door  and  down  the  stairway. 

Crying  softly,  Jennie  stood  gazing  at  the  door 
through  which  he  had  passed.  Then,  remembering  her 
orders,  she  entered  her  room  and  hastily  packed  a  few 
necessaries  in  a  bag.  Back  in  the  sitting-room  she 
thought  of  her  aunt,  and  very  gently  she  opened  the 
sick  woman's  door.  The  light  from  the  sitting-room 
fell  dimly  across  the  white  face;  and  gazing  at  it  Jennie 
remembered  all  the  kindness  of  that  loving  but  ineffec- 
tual person.  Still  weeping  softly  she  crossed  to  the  bed 
and  kissed  the  worn  face  good-bye. 


64  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

A  minute  later  she  was  creeping  down  the  stairs,  the 
tender  emotion  of  the  few  minutes  before  already  giving 
place  to  the  high  spirits  of  youth,  to  the  excitement  of 
unknown  adventure  lying  just  ahead.  At  the  doorway 
opening  from  the  hall  she  set  down  her  bag  and  stepped 
inside  and  through  the  screens;  this  in  accord  with 
Uncle  George's  final  injunctions  for  clearing  her  father 
from  being  an  accessory  in  her  flight  —  that  she  was  to 
be  last  seen  by  others  than  Black  Jerry.  Her  rapid 
glance  about  showed  her  Black  Jerry  near  the  cashier's 
desk  across  the  cafe,  his  back  steadily  toward  her  — 
this  also  per  instructions;  and  she  saw  Harry  Edwards 
alone  at  a  little  table,  sunk  in  dejection  after  his  im- 
petuous offer  of  half  an  hour  before,  brooding  over  a 
sandwich  and  a  glass  of  beer;  and  she  saw  Slim  Jackson 
seating  himself  after  a  dance  with  Daisy  White. 

Several  persons,  seeing  her  in  the  doorway,  called 
to  her.  At  the  sound  of  her  name  Harry  glanced  eagerly 
up,  then  looked  gloomily  back  at  his  table.  Slim  arose, 
half  started  toward  her,  then  remembering  her  father's 
presence  sat  down  again;  but  he  smiled  at  her,  taunt- 
ingly, confidently  —  and  despite  her  excitement  over 
her  own  great  future  just  beginning,  a  phrase  of  his 
flashed  back  upon  her:  "I'm  going  away  up,  Jen  — 
you  just  watch  me!" 

She  gave  another  glance  about ;  she  had  a  momentary 
sense  of  saying  good-bye  to  what  had  been  her  world,  of 
saying  good-bye  to  what  had  been  herself.  Then  she 
slipped  out,  picked  up  her  bag,  and  two  minutes  after- 
ward she  had  stepped  into  a  darkened  taxi  beside  Uncle 
George. 

"All  right,  Jack,"  Uncle  George  said  to  the  chauffeur; 
and  to  Jennie:  "The  driver  is  safe  —  is  a  friend  of 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  65 

mine  —  has  got  reason  to  be;  so  don't  be  afraid  they'll 
ever  trace  you  through  him." 

Ten  minutes  later  Jennie  was  rolling  up  Fifth  Avenue, 
the  Pekin,  and  Harry,  and  Slim  Jackson,  and  even  her 
father,  all  for  the  moment  forgotten.  Tense,  excited, 
exultant,  her  imagination  stimulated  to  the  most  dar- 
ing possibilities,  she  was  gazing  forward  into  the  dis- 
tantly glimpsed,  shimmering  land  which  she  was  en- 
tering .  .  .  wondering  whom  she  was  going  to  meet  in 
this  new  world  —  wondering  what  was  going  to  happen 
to  her  —  pulsing  with  determination  to  play  her  part 
well  in  whatever  circumstances  the  curtained  future 
might  place  her.  .  .  . 

And  being  sixteen,  and  having  a  dazzling,  unknown 
world  opening  to  her,  her  mind  could  not  glance  back- 
ward to  the  Pekin :  could  not  see  Black  Jerry,  seated  at 
the  little  table  in  his  private  office,  his  big  hands  gripped 
before  him,  his  set  face  looking  straight  across  the  room 
and  seeing  nothing  at  all  ...  having  not  even  a  glimpse 
of  the  drama  of  tangled  human  passions  and  relation- 
ships, that  he  and  Uncle  George,  thinking  and  acting 
according  to  their  training,  and  Life,  all  working  to- 
gether, had  set  into  motion. 


CHAPTER  VI 

JENNIE'S  NEW  WORLD 

FOR  two  irksome,  suspense-fevered  days,  accord- 
ing to  Uncle  George's  instruction,  Jennie  played 
at  being  indisposed  and  kept  to  her  room  in  that 
conventionally  proper  hotel  for  women,  The  Martha 
Washington.  Aside  from  her  fears,  her  bold  dreams, 
her  constant  waiting  for  the  promised  return  of  Uncle 
George,  she  had  but  one  occupation  for  her  mind  — 
this  was  the  newspapers.  Her  first  morning  here  she 
had  read  a  romantic  and  dramatic  account  of  the  trial 
of  the  "  beautiful  girl  forger,"  with  its  culmination  in  the 
discovery  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  Jerry  Malone, 
and  in  the  most  righteous  and  deserved  tongue-lashing 
the  magistrate  had  given  the  notorious  Black  Jerry.  And 
the  morning  after  that  she  read  of  the  second  hearing  of 
the  case,  at  which  it  had  developed  that  the  "pretty  girl 
forger"  had  run  away,  and  at  which  the  magistrate  had 
stormed  almost  equally  at  Black  Jerry  and  at  Officer 
Casey,  and  at  which  he  had  demanded  that  Casey  and 
the  police  force  find  the  Malone  girl  and  bring  her 
straight  before  him. 

Jennie  shivered.  So  all  the  world  knew  what  she  had 
done,  and  knew  she  had  run  away !  So  Casey  and  all  the 
police  force  were  now  after  her!  She  held  her  breath 
every  time  footsteps  sounded  in  the  corridor,  expecting 
to  be  haled  back  to  face  it  all. 

But  the  only  person  who  came  in  upon  her  was  the 
maid,  to  straighten  her  room  a  bit  and  bring  her  her 
invalid's  portion  of  food. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  67 

At  five  o'clock  of  the  second  afternoon  her  telephone 
rang.  She  crept  fearfully  out  of  her  bed,  took  down 
the  receiver,  wavered,  then  in  a  disguised  voice  said, 
"Hello."  But  she  was  instantly  relieved ;  the  voice  that 
sounded  in  her  ear  was  Uncle  George's.  He  told  her  to 
be  ready  to  leave  in  half  an  hour  and  to  put  on  the 
motor  veil  which  would  be  brought  up  to  her. 

Thirty  minutes  later,  dressed  and  veiled,  and  acting 
the  semi-invalid,  she  met  Uncle  George  in  the  lobby 
below.  In  this  conventional  atmosphere  Uncle  George 
was  in  manner  and  language  suggestive  of  an  amiable 
and  beloved  deacon;  he  asked  for  his  "niece's"  bill, 
settled  it,  took  from  the  desk  a  folder  announcing  va- 
rious religious  services,  and  then  with  great  solicitude 
escorted  the  weak-seeming  Jennie  to  the  doorway. 
Within  this  he  halted  until  a  porter  had  placed  Jennie's 
bag  in  a  closed  car  waiting  at  the  curb.  For  a  minute 
longer  his  whole  concern  seemed  to  be  engrossed  in  his 
questions  regarding  Jennie's  health,  but  actually  his 
whole  attention  was  in  the  seemingly  casual  but  all- 
seeing  glances  he  cast  along  the  street,  east  and  west. 
Then  with  apparent  leisure,  but  with  carefully  timed 
dispatch,  he  led  her  across  the  sidewalk,  pressed  her  be- 
fore him  into  the  closed  car,  shut  the  door,  and  the  car 
moved  away  —  but  not  before  Jennie's  quick  eyes  had 
noted  that  the  chauffeur  was  the  "safe  friend"  of  Uncle 
George  who  had  driven  the  taxicab  which  had  brought 
her  hither. 

"Did  anybody  see  us  come  out?"  Jennie  breathed. 

"There  was  n't  a  copper  in  sight.  And  if  there  had 
been,  I'm  sure  he  would  n't  have  suspected  anything." 

"You  know  the  police  are  after  me,  Uncle  George?" 

"Sure  I  know."    He  caught  the  strain  in  her  voice. 


68  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"But  don't  you  worry  about  that,  Jennie,"  he  said 
kindly,  and  with  a  note  of  self-satisfaction  in  his  voice. 
"You  Ve  made  one  swell  get-away.  The  Martha  Wash- 
ington Hotel  is  the  last  joint  the  coppers  would  ever 
think  of  the  daughter  of  Black  Jerry  going  to." 

"But  the  papers  said  the  judge  had  ordered  the  police 
to  send  out  a  general  alarm." 

"But  what  good '11  that  do?  Lucky  for  us,  the  night 
you  were  tried  no  newspaper  photographer  was  around 
trying  to  flash  you.  And  I  told  your  father  to  burn  up 
all  the  photographs  of  you.  So  the  police  and  the  papers 
can't  print  any  picture  of  you ;  about  all  they  can  do  is  to 
say  that  a  pretty  girl  disappeared  —  and  I  guess  every 
young  female  between  fourteen  and  forty  thinks  that 
that  is  an  exact  description  of  herself.  Yes,  you  're  safe 
all  right.  Anyhow,"  he  reassured  her,  "the  case  ain't 
so  serious  —  that  check  was  for  only  twenty-five.  Of 
course  that  judge  made  a  big  holler;  and  the  papers 
played  it  up  big  —  but  that  was  because  news  was  scarce, 
and  because  they  could  pull  the  '  pretty  girl '  stunt,  and 
because  you  were  Jerry  Malone's  daughter.  But  it's 
mostly  noise,  my  dear  —  just  the  concussion  of  one 
large  word  against  another.  So  don't  you  worry." 

"  But  dad  ?  They  're  after  dad ! ' ' 

"They'll  try  to  make  trouble  for  him,  sure  —  but 
they  can't  do  a  thing.  He's  got  a  perfect  alibi  as  far  as 
your  running  away  is  concerned,  and  that  fool  judge's 
charge  that  he  put  you  up  to  writing  phony  checks,  of 
course  they  can  never  fasten  that  charge  on  Jerry. 
Everything '11  soon  quiet  down  with  your  father,  and 
things  will  be  the  same  as  ever.  So  don't  you  worry 
about  your  dad,  my  dear  —  don't  you  worry." 

Huddled  back  in  the  car,  the  fear  of  a  fugitive  upon 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  69 

her  in  spite  of  the  complete  masking  of  the  motor  veil, 
Jennie  was  silent  until  they  had  entered  the  park.  Then 
she  spoke. 

"Where  are  we  going  to,  Uncle  George?" 
"I  thought  you  understood.   We're  headed  for  a  pri- 
vate school." 

"You  mean  you've  already  found  one?" 
"Yes,  and  already  settled  everything  about  your  en- 
tering it." 

"Uncle  George ! "  For  the  moment  she  forgot  the  past, 
which  had  seemed  to  be  clutching  pantingly  at  her 
shoulder.   "What's  the  school  like?" 
"Well,  it  sure  does  have  class!" 
"Was  it  much  trouble?   Finding  it,  I  mean?" 
"Not  much.  I  remembered  that  Sam  Con  way  was 
a  sort  of  a  silent  partner  in  that  big  contracting  firm  of 
Harrison  and  Company;  and  I  knew  that  Mr.  Harrison, 
who  is  something  of  a  swell,  has  a  daughter  — " 

"Is  this  the  Harrison  and  Company  where  Sam 
Conway  has  just  got  Harry  Edwards  a  job?"  Jennie 
interrupted. 

"I  don't  know  —  mebbe.  I  knew  Mr.  Harrison  has 
a  daughter  in  a  school,  and  I  knew  any  school  he  would 
pick  out  would  be  the  best.  So  I  asked  Sam  to  inquire, 
casual-like,  of  Mr.  Harrison  what  school  his  girl's  at  — 
which  Sam  does  and  tells  me.  You  Ve  got  to  have  social 
and  business  references  to  get  into  that  school;  but  I 
knew  it,  so  I  was  all  readied  up  with  references  when  I 
went  out  to  the  school  to-day  and  settled  things.  Braithe- 
wood  Hall  is  the  school's  name,  and  Miss  Gresham  is 
the  combination  of  hostess,  grand  duchess,  secretary  of 
state,  and  traffic  cop  who  runs  it.  I  guess  she  owns  the 
joint.  It  certainly  does  have  class,  Jennie!  And  another 


7O  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

big  point  in  its  favor  is  that  if  the  police  ever  do  want  to 
make  trouble  —  in  a  small  way,  Jennie,  you  're  a  sort 
of  fugitive  from  justice  —  Brai  the  wood  Hall  is  the  last 
place  where  they  'd  ever  look  for  you,  and  even  if  they 
saw  you  there,  they  would  n't  believe  you  are  you." 

As  the  car  made  its  way  out  of  the  city  and  then 
through  the  pleasant  reaches  of  Westchester  County, 
Uncle  George  went  over  his  interview  with  Miss 
Gresham:  he  had  told  her  in  detail  the  story  about 
Jennie's  being  an  orphan,  about  her  Western  life.  As 
they  sped  on,  Jennie,  huddled  back  in  her  corner  of  the 
car,  all  her  faculties  reaching  forward  in  poignant  sus- 
pense, wondered  throbbingly  about  this  new  world  to- 
ward which  she  was  hurrying :  what  was  the  school  going 
to  be  like?  —  what  its  grand  duchess  principal?  —  what 
the  girls?  —  and  would  she,  could  she,  really  ever  get 
on  with  them? 

Presently,  at  twilight,  after  an  hour's  running,  the 
car  turned  through  a  high  wrought-iron  gate  in  a  brick 
wall  with  stone  coping.  It  followed  a  curving  drive 
through  low-shorn  trees  and  a  precise  lawn,  and  came 
to  a  stop  before  a  handsome  ivy-covered  brick  building 
with  a  large  white-pillared  portico  that  looked  out 
upon  the  now  dull  waters  of  Long  Island  Sound. 

"Here  we  are,  Jennie,"  whispered  Uncle  George. 
"Don't  forget  who  you  are,  and  the  part  you  have  got 
to  play.  Come  on." 

In  a  daze,  yet  watching  everything,  Jennie  followed 
him.  After  being  taken  in  charge  by  an  amazingly  neat 
maid  in  black,  she  found  herself  in  a  large  room  with 
shelves  and  shelves  of  books  and  many  comfortable 
chairs  and  a  business-like  desk,  and  she  heard  Uncle 
George  saying  in  his  best  manner: 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  71 

"Miss  Gresham,  this  is  my  ward  about  whom  I 
talked  to  you  to-day  —  Jennie  Miller." 

''I'm  very  glad  to  meet  you,  Miss  Miller,"  Miss 
Gresham  said  in  a  voice  modulated  to  a  careful  gra- 
ciousness,  holding  out  her  hand. 

"Thank  you  —  m  —  ma'am." 

As  the  hand  was  withdrawn  after  a  light  pressure, 
Jennie  gave  a  quick  glance  at  Miss  Gresham.  Cer- 
tainly she  was  unlike  any  teacher  or  principal  Jennie  had 
ever  known.  She  reminded  Jennie  more  of  the  ladies 
she  had  seen  on  Fifth  Avenue  on  soft  spring  afternoons, 
leaning  back  in  their  leisurely  moving  cars.  She  was 
slender,  of  very  erect  yet  not  stiff  carriage,  and  wore  a 
distinguished  black  silk  gown  with  a  bit  of  train  to  it. 
Her  thin  face,  with  its  firm  yet  delicate  lines,  and  her 
smartly  done  graying  hair,  made  her  seem  a  very  great 
lady  to  Jennie.  Jennie's  dominant  feeling  in  that  mo- 
ment of  first  meeting  was  one  of  awe  and  doubt :  could 
she  ever,  ever,  conduct  herself  in  a  manner  that  would 
win  even  so  much  as  this  lady's  toleration? 

"I  believe  I  covered  everything  this  afternoon,"  she 
heard  Uncle  George  say  —  and  Jennie  found  herself 
marveling  at  the  suavity  and  poise,  the  air  of  perfect 
culture,  with  which  the  old  man  was  bearing  himself. 
"But  I  wish  to  make  myself  quite  clear  on  one  point. 
As  I  told  you,  my  ward,  through  the  limited  opportuni- 
ties and  peculiar  circumstances  of  her  life  up  to  this  time, 
knows  a  great  deal  about  many  things  and  nothing  at 
all  about  other  things.  Now,  I  want  her  to  learn  these 
other  things;  to  acquire  the  proper  manners;  to  learn 
to  be  a  lady." 

Miss  Gresham  inclined  her  head  ever  so  little.  "I 
understand.  I  presume  you  have  satisfied  yourself, 


72  A  Daughter  of  Two  PForlds 

before  bringing  her  here,  as  to  the  ability  of  Braithe- 
wood  Hall  to  serve  your  ward  in  this  manner  —  just  as 
I  have  satisfied  myself  in  regard  to  you." 

"But  you  can  really  know  nothing  about  me,  Miss 
Gresham,"  smiled  Uncle  George. 

"  It  is  a  necessity  in  my  profession  to  judge  the  charac- 
ter of  a  person  by  my  impressions,"  said  Miss  Gresham. 

"Thank  you  "  —  and  Uncle  George  made  a  grave  and 
dignified  bow.  "Oh,  yes  —  there  are  two  other  points 
which  I  almost  forgot.  First,  my  ward's  clothing  was 
obviously  unsuited  to  our  present  plans,  so  when  she 
came  East  she  brought  only  the  bare  necessities  for 
travel.  I  presume  you  can  see  that  she  is  provided  with 
a  suitable  outfit.  I  shall  leave  extra  funds  with  you  for 
this  purpose." 

Miss  Gresham  nodded.  "One  of  my  teachers  special- 
izes in  helping  the  girls  in  just  such  matters." 

"Excellent.  The  second  point  is  this:  My  ward  is 
not  only  an  orphan,  but  has  no  near  relations  and  few 
friends  —  and  having  no  family  myself,  I  have  no  home 
to  take  her  to.  Therefore  she  has  no  place  to  return  to 
during  vacations.  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  her  remain 
here  during  the  shorter  vacations,  and  to  have  you  place 
her  in  some  girls'  camp  of  the  highest  class  during  the 
summers.  I  shall  make  the  necessary  financial  provision 
for  this." 

"That  can  easily  be  arranged.  Is  there  any  other 
matter?" 

"Yes.  I  should  mention  that  my  affairs  require  that 
I  should  constantly  travel;  in  consequence  I  shall  be 
able  to  visit  my  ward  rarely,  and  shall  not  be  able  to 
give  her  the  direct  attention  I  should  like.  I  have  there- 
fore placed  her  affairs  in  the  hands  of  a  firm  of  attorneys, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  73 

with  whom  you  may  always  communicate.  Here  is  their 
card." 

"Thank  you.    Is  that  all?" 

"I  believe  we  have  covered  everything." 

"I  presume,  then,  you  would  like  a  few  parting  words 
with  your  ward,  so  I  shall  now  leave  you  alone  with  her. 
As  our  fall  term  opened  only  three  days  ago  she  will 
lose  little,  and  we  shall  do  our  best  for  her.  Good-bye." 

"Good-bye.  Please  let  me  thank  you  in  advance  for 
all  I  know  you  are  going  to  do  for  Jennie."  And  with  his 
grave  dignity  Uncle  George  bowed  over  her  hand. 

"Dinner  is  served  at  seven,  Miss  Miller.  When  you 
are  ready,  ring  this  bell  and  a  maid  will  show  you  to 
your  room.  You  need  not  bother  to  dress  to-night." 

When  Miss  Gresham  had  gone,  Uncle  George  held  his 
gaze  of  sober  dignity  upon  Jennie  for  a  moment.  Then 
he  gazed  cautiously  about,  and  when  he  looked  at  her 
again  one  lashless  eye  drooped  in  a  slow  wink,  and  he 
grinned. 

"Well,  Jennie,"  he  whispered,  "how  was  I  in  the 
part?" 

"You  did  it  great,  Uncle  George!  If  I  had  n't  known 
you,  I  'd  have  believed  it  all  —  about  me  —  and  about 
you." 

"It  was  easy,  Jennie  —  nothing  at  all."  He  raised  a 
deprecatory  hand.  "I  rather  hated,  though,  to  put  that 
across  on  a  lady  —  but  it's  all  for  the  glory  of  God." 

But  Uncle  George  was  really  delighted  with  himself. 
He  was  truly  attached  to  Black  Jerry  and  Jennie;  and 
he  had  made  a  successful  use  of  highly  trained  faculties 
that  long  had  been  disused  —  and  he  had  used  them  in 
what  for  him  was  a  highly  moral  and  soul-warming 
performance. 


74  <A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"But,  Uncle  George,"  Jennie  whispered  nervously, 
"do  you  think  I  can  ever  act  my  part  in  a  place  like 
this?" 

"Sure  you  will,  dear!  But  I  want  to  slip  you  a  few 
points  —  take  'em  from  an  old  man  who  has  had  to  read 
human  nature  in  all  languages."  If  Uncle  George  had 
not  early  in  life  drifted  into  devious  ways,  he  might 
have  become  a  preacher,  so  strong  was  his  inclination 
to  discourse.  "You  come  here  labeled  as  pretty  crude, 
so  if  you  make  a  break  it's  just  what's  expected  of  you, 
so  don't  let  it  worry  you.  But  keep  yourself  pretty 
much  in  the  background  until  you  know  the  ropes. 
When  in  doubt  about  what  to  do,  wait  and  watch  what 
the  other  girl  does  with  her  fork.  That  rule  applies  to 
everything  else  as  well  as  to  eating.  Understand?" 

"I  think  I  do,  Uncle  George." 

"And  here's  the  great  thing,  Jennie:  Keep  yourself 
quiet,  obscure,  until  you  gradually  begin  to  get  in  solid 
here  —  you  've  got  four  years  to  turn  the  trick,  so  you 
can  take  your  time.  Remember,  you've  got  to  keep 
yourself  down.  If  necessary,  be  more  ignorant  and  crude 
than  you  really  are."  And  then  Uncle  George  spoke 
sententiously,  in  the  tone  of  universal  and  eternal 
truth.  "Women,  and  girls,  too,  Jennie,  are  curious 
cusses.  They  don't  care  how  superior  to  them  a  woman 
or  girl  is  who  was  born,  at  the  top,  or  who  some  time  ago 
solidly  landed  there.  But  they're  as  jealous  as  hell  of, 
and  they  hate  like  hell,  the  girl  of  their  own  bunch  or 
a  lower  bunch,  who  is  smarter  or  prettier  than  they  are. 
They'll  eat  her  raw  and  alive.  Get  the  drift  of  what 
I'm  saying?" 

"I  think  I  do." 

"You'll  not  be  likely  to  go  wrong  if  you  remember 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  75 

what  I  said  about  underplaying  yourself.  I  don't  know 
just  how  this  here  business  is  going  to  come  out  in  the 
end  —  but  it  would  be  an  awful  big  help,  Jennie,  what- 
ever way  the  thing  breaks,  if  you  could  come  out  of  this 
school  with  a  few  classy  girls  as  your  solid  friends. 
But  don't  go  after  'em  —  let  'em  come  to  you.  Be  quiet 
—  grow  slow  —  don't  really  let  yourself  out  until  you 
know  the  girls  have  taken  you  on  as  one  of  themselves, 
and  mebbe  you'd  better  not  do  it  even  then.  You  know 
the  way  for  a  wise  guy  to  trim  a  sucker  is  to  let  the 
sucker  think  himself  a  wise  guy  at  first  and  let  him  do 
all  the  early  winning  —  and  the  same  rule,  my  dear, 
holds  good  for  every  other  sort  of  diplomatic  career." 

"I'll  try  to  remember  it  all,  and  do  it  all,  Uncle 
George." 

"If  you  do,  Jennie,  if  you  play  the  cards  right,"  he 
said  with  the  emphasis  of  certainty,  "why,  in  three 
years  you'll  be  one  of  the  first  families  in  this  here 
joint!" 

He  gave  her  much  more  advice,  gathered  out  of  his 
experience  with  the  worldliness  of  the  world.  Then,  all 
his  own  worldliness  fallen  away  from  him,  and  being  for 
the  moment  just  an  affectionate  old  man,  he  kissed  her 
very  simply. 

"I'll  be  pulling  hard  for  you  to  make  good,  my 
dear,"  he  said.  "Good-bye  and  good  luck!" 

Recovering  his  former  bearing  he  walked  out.  Through 
the  doorway  Jennie  saw  the  maid  hold  out  to  him  his 
hat  and  stick  and  saw  him  accept  them  with  his  sober 
mien.  And  then  he  was  gone. 


CHAPTER  VII 

JENNIE  MAKES  A  FRIEND 

LEFT  alone,  the  last  human  tie  removed  that 
bound  her  to  the  life  she  had  known  up  to  this 
time,  her  heart  throbbing  wildly,  Jennie  looked 
sharply  about  this  large  room  of  austere  elegance. 

She  was  seized  with  a  fear  that  bordered  closely 
upon  a  frantic  impulse  to  flee  out  of  this  splendid  es- 
tablishment containing  only  that  which  was  unknown. 
But  she  remembered  Casey  —  the  police  court  judge  — 
she  remembered  her  father,  giving  her  up  that  she 
might  have  this  very  chance;  and  to  reinforce  these 
counter  impulses  there  came  the  reflex  of  her  audacious, 
dogged  courage.  She  moved  over  and  pressed  the  bell 
Miss  Gresham  had  indicated. 

Almost  instantly  the  very  neat  maid  entered  who 
had  admitted  her.  "You  are  ready  to  go  to  your 
room?" 

"Yes.  Where  is  my  bag?" 

"It  has  already  been  taken  up,  miss." 

Jennie  followed  the  maid  up  a  wide  stairway,  muted 
by  a  deep  rug,  with  white  banisters,  through  a  wide, 
airy  corridor,  through  another  corridor,  and  to  a  door 
which  the  maid  opened.  She  allowed  Jennie  to  enter 
first,  then  followed  her. 

"This  is  your  room,"  said  the  maid,  "and  that  door 
there  opens  into  your  bathroom.  Dinner  is  served. 
I'll  wait  outside  to  show  you  to  the  dining-room." 

Jennie  gazed  about  her,  bewildered,  awed.  The  room 
was  a  combination  bedroom  and  sitting-room,  high, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  77 

airy,  as  large  as  three  of  the  rooms  at  home  —  and  in  it 
were  two  beds,  though  the  second  bed  had  no  signifi- 
cance to  her  at  that  moment.  The  woodwork  was  white, 
the  window  hangings,  the  bed-spreads,  and  the  cover- 
ings of  the  chairs,  were  all  dominated  by  a  soft  warm 
blue;  and  at  one  end  was  a  fireplace  with  logs  of  real 
wood  in  it.  Dazed,  Jennie  automatically  stepped  into 
the  bathroom.  She  had  never  known  there  was  such  a 
bathroom !  —  it  was  all  porcelain  and  white  tile  and 
glistening  nickel.  All  these  luxuries  for  her! 

She  wanted  to  stay  here  and  examine  in  detail  these 
exquisite  marvels  of  her  new  home;  but  there  was  that 
maid  waiting  for  her,  and  instinct  told  her  it  would 
never  do  to  show  excitement  over  marvels  that  must  be 
commonplaces  to  every  other  person  here.  So  she  laid 
aside  hat  and  coat,  quickly  removed  the  soil  of  her 
motor-ride,  and  joined  the  maid  without  —  who  led  her 
back  the  way  they  had  come,  through  a  broad  corridor 
on  the  ground  floor,  to  a  wide  doorway  which  gave  into 
a  large,  brightly  lighted  room.  It  seemed  as  large  as  a 
restaurant  to  Jennie  —  only  different  —  different  in 
a  nicer  way.  She  felt  lost,  but  at  once  she  saw  Miss 
Gresham  coming  toward  her. 

"This  way,  Miss  Miller;  I  '11  show  you  to  your  place." 
And  as  Jennie  trailed  behind  her:  "Miss  Gould,  who  is 
the  teacher  that  always  sits  at  your  table,  is  ill  to-night, 
so  I  '11  introduce  you  to  your  table-mates  —  I  Ve  al- 
ready told  them  a  bit  about  you." 

They  halted  at  a  table  at  which  sat  six  girls.  Jennie 
managed  to  achieve  a  bow  as  each  girl  was  presented, 
but  she  was  too  confused  to  hear  a  single  name.  Seated 
in  her  place,  several  minutes  passed  during  which  her 
eyes  saw  only  the  soup  which  had  been  set  before  her 


78  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

—  but  she  heard  a  constant  chattering,  and  a  light  gig- 
gling. Then  her  self-control  began  to  return;  her  first 
impulse  was  to  be  defiant  to  these  young  swells.  But 
she  recalled  Uncle  George's  instruction  to  hold  herself 
down,  and  when  she  glanced  up  she  was  a  very  shy- 
looking  person. 

There  were  perhaps  a  hundred  girls  in  the  room,  in 
dresses  that  fairly  took  Jennie's  breath.  Their  style 
and  obvious  cost  made  her  suddenly  and  acutely  con- 
scious of  her  own  dress  which  seemed  to  her  common 
and  shabby  in  this  company:  —  and  then,  in  turn,  she 
became  panically  conscious  of  who  she  really  was.  She 
was  Jennie  Malone!  Did  these  girls  read  the  news- 
papers? If  they  did,  what  would  they  do  if  they  were 
this  minute  to  learn  that  among  them,  one  of  them,  was 
a  girl  who  three  nights  before  had  been  on  trial  in  a 
police  court  for  forgery,  who  was  now  hiding  away  from 
police  and  courts  and  prisons  —  who  was  the  daughter 
of  the  man  that  black-robed  judge  had  wrathfully  de- 
nounced as  "the  notorious,  the  infamous  Black  Jerry 
Malone!" 

A  prickling  shiver  ran  through  Jennie,  and  she  held 
her  breath,  waiting  tensely  for  these  girls  to  rise  and 
cry  out  against  her.  But  the  hundred  girls  chattered 
on.  .  .  . 

Eating  little,  and  being  very  careful  how  she  ate  it, 
Jennie  covertly  but  sharply  began  to  take  note  of  the 
girls  at  her  own  table.  At  her  right  sat  a  girl,  perhaps 
eighteen,  her  body  with  the  languid  droop  which  at  that 
time  was  considered  smart,  with  full  lips,  a  short  nose, 
large,  insolent  eyes,  and  dark  hair  which  was  bobbed : 
an  irregularly  handsome  girl  who  showed  she  was  fully 
conscious  of  her  beauty,  and  conscious  of  the  place  in 


A  Daughter  of  Tzvo  Worlds  79 

the  world  which  belonged  to  her.  She  was  talking  all 
the  time,  and  Jennie  quickly  sensed  that  this  girl  dom- 
inated her  table,  from  the  way  in  which  most  of  the 
other  girls  heeded  her  most  casual  remarks  —  some  of 
which  were  perhaps  more  daring  than  they  would  have 
been  but  for  the  empty  chair  belonging  to  the  presiding 
teacher  —  and  giggled  at  her  every  essay  at  humor. 

On  Jennie's  left  was  a  girl  of  about  her  own  age: 
all  the  impression  Jennie  got  of  her  just  then  was  that 
she  was  a  rather  pretty  blonde,  that  she  had  blue  eyes 
and  that  she  was  very  quiet. 

The  girl  with  the  bobbed  hair  —  Gloria,  Jennie  had 
heard  her  called  —  after  having  touched  upon  a  score 
of  subjects  with  remarks  that  had  been  deliciously 
humorous,  judged  by  the  giggles  with  which  she  had 
been  applauded,  presently  turned  her  cool,  direct  eyes 
upon  the  diffident-seeming  Jennie. 

"Believe  your  name  is  Miller,"  she  drawled. 

"Yes." 

"And  Miss  Gresham  said  you  came  from  out  West 
—  Wyoming." 

"I  do." 

"That's  where  the  cowboys  come  from."  The  girl 
looked  Jennie  up  and  down  with  slow,  superior  eyes 
until  she  knew  she  had  the  attention  of  the  others, 
"Tell  me,  Miller,"  she  drawled,  "does  that  get-up  you 
have  on  give  us  an  idea  of  how  all  the  cowboys  look?  " 

A  hesitating  titter  ran  about  the  table  at  this  hit. 

"Don't  mind  what  she  says,  please!"  the  blonde  at 
Jennie's  left  whispered  quickly. 

But  Jennie  did  mind.  It  did  not  come  to  her  that  the 
other  might  possibly  be  ill-bred ;  she  was  merely  aware 
that  she  was  being  made  sport  of.  She  forgot  for  the 


8o  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

moment  Uncle  George's  legacy  of  wise  injunctions.  But 
though  angry,  her  mind  controlled  her  anger. 

"They  don't  look  exactly  like  this,"  she  replied  with 
suspicion-lulling  embarrassment.  "There's  one  great 
difference." 

"Indeed!"  said  the  other  in  her  musical  drawl. 
"And  what  is  that  difference,  Miller?" 

Jennie  looked  her  straight  in  the  eye.  "The  chief 
difference  is  that  most  of  the  cowboys,  the  very 
rough  cowboys,  have  a  haircut  just  like  yours,  Gloria 
dear." 

Gloria  gasped,  and  turned  very  red.  The  other  girls 
stared  at  the  two  in  loose-faced  silence.  Jennie  gazed 
steadily  at  Gloria,  waiting,  challenge  in  her  eyes  — 
but  after  a  moment  Gloria's  gaze  wavered  and  her 
high-colored  face  fell  to  her  food.  There  was  painful 
silence  at  the  table  during  the  rest  of  the  meal. 

Jennie  got  back  to  her  room  as  quickly  as  she  could. 
Before  she  had  time  to  think  over  her  experiences  in 
the  dining-room,  or  even  to  look  about  her  new  quarters, 
her  door  opened  and  there  was  the  pretty  blonde  who 
had  sat  at  her  left.  There  was  a  moment  of  embar- 
rassed silence.  Then  the  other  girl  spoke. 

"I  hope  you  don't  mind  my  coming  in,  for,  you  see" 

—  smiling  —  "this  is  my  room,  too." 
"Oh!" 

"Did  n't  you  know  I  was  your  room-mate?" 
"No.    I  have  n't  been  here  long  enough  to  be  told 
anything."   Here  was  a  new  difficulty,  a  new  problem! 

—  a  room-mate,  and  one  who  probably  had  everything 
and  knew  everything.    How  was  she  going  to  get  on, 
living  so  intimately  with  this  unknown  girl  from  an- 
other world? 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  8 1 

"I  hope  we're  going  to  be  good  friends,"  the  other 
said  shyly.  '  *  Let 's  sit  down. ' ' 

They  did  so.  Again  there  was  a  moment  of  embar- 
rassed silence.  Then  the  other  burst  out: 

"I  think  Gloria  Raymond  was  perfectly  horrid  to- 
night! But  it  was  just  like  her.  She's  got  a  horrible 
temper." 

"I  guess  I  lost  my  temper,  too,"  Jennie  responded 
discreetly. 

"You  treated  her  perfectly  right  —  though  none  of 
the  rest  of  us  dare  talk  that  way  to  her.  I  guess  she  has 
more  money  than  any  other  girl  here  —  and  she  does 
about  as  she  pleases  with  her  aunt  —  and  she's  been 
to  a  lot  of  parties  —  and  she's  got  a  lot  of  beaux  —  so 
she  thinks  she's  just  about  all  right  and  just  a  little  bit 
better  than  any  of  the  rest  of  us.  But  I  would  n't  mind 
the  way  she  behaves  if  I  were  you." 

"I'm  not  going  to,"  said  Jennie. 

"She's  fairly  decent  to  me,  because  my  brother  is  one 
of  the  fellows  she's  sweet  on." 

"  Is  your  brother  in  school,  too?" 

"No.  Kenneth  graduated  from  college  years  and 
years  ago.  Three  years  I  think  it  was.  But  I  hope  he 
does  n't  let  anything  —  you  understand  —  serious  grow 
up  between  him  and  Gloria,  for  I  'd  hate  to  have  Gloria 
in  the  family." 

With  her  pleasant,  friendly  smile  Jennie's  room-mate 
changed  the  subject.  "I  wish  I'd  lived  out  West.  I 
suppose  you  shoot  well,  and  ride  like  everything.  You 
know  the  school  has  a  stable  and  most  of  the  girls  here 
ride  almost  every  day.  I'm  sure  you  can  show  them 
what  real  riding  is." 

Jennie  saw  danger  before  her.  "  I  was  always  afraid 


82  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

of  guns,"  she  said,  "and  my  uncle  got  hurt  riding  when 
I  was  a  little  girl  and  would  never  let  me  get  on  a  horse. 
So  I  really  can't  do  anything  that  Western  girls  are 
supposed  to  do." 

"I  wish  you'd  tell  me  about  yourself —  if  you  don't 
mind,"  said  the  other. 

The  girl  was  interested  and  eager.  And  so  Jennie,  in- 
venting carefully  where  Uncle  George  had  not  supplied 
her  with  data,  told  of  the  rough  Wyoming  life  of  that 
recently  created  orphan,  Jennie  Miller.  Subconsciously 
she  followed  Uncle  George's  advice  to  "underplay" 
herself;  or  perhaps  she  was  rather  acting  from  the  dic- 
tates of  her  own  instincts.  She  was  seemingly  shy, 
modest,  and  very  open.  She  confessed  that  she  knew 
nothing,  either  about  books  or  how  to  behave  among 
people;  and  she  confessed,  with  every  appearance  of 
simple  frankness,  how  it  was  that  she  had  come  here, 
with  only  a  few  rough  items  of  clothing.  Her  watchful 
eyes  noted  that  her  unknown  room-mate  was  warmly 
sympathetic. 

"And  now  I  wish  you'd  tell  me  all  about  yourself," 
she  said  when  she  had  finished. 

Her  room-mate's  blue  eyes  opened  wide.  "Why,  I 
thought  you  knew  all  about  me!" 

"  I  don't  even  know  your  name." 

"No!  It's  Sue  Harrison.  Why,  Miss  Gresham  told 
me  your  guardian  had  brought  you  to  Braithewood  Hall 
because  he  knew  my  father,  and  that 's  why  she  put  us 
together  here  and  at  table." 

Jennie  saw  several  things  at  once  —  one  of  which  was 
that  danger  might  grow  out  of  this  reputed  friendship 
were  a  correction  not  made.  "I'm  sure  it's  just  a 
misunderstanding,"  she  said  quickly.  "My  guardian 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  83 

does  n't  know  your  father.  He  merely  happened  to  hear 
of  this  school  through  one  of  your  father's  friends  — 
that 's  all  there  is  to  that.  Though,  if  you  're  not  sorry, 
I'm  glad  we're  to  be  room-mates." 

And  to  herself  she  was  saying :  So  this  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  that  Mr.  Harrison  whose  silent  partner  Sam 
Conway  was!  —  of  that  Mr.  Harrison  for  whom  Harry 
Edwards  had  just  begun  to  work! 

Sue  declared  that  there  was  n't  much  to  tell  of  her- 
self. Besides  herself  there  were  just  her  mother  and 
father  and  brother;  they  lived  in  New  York  in  a  house 
in  the  East  Seventies  just  off  Fifth  Avenue;  in  summer 
they  lived  at  their  country-place  on  Long  Island.  That 
was  all.  ...  It  was  n't  much  as  Sue  told  it,  but  within 
herself  Jennie  was  gasping. 

They  talked  on  for  two  hours,  Jennie  seemingly  frank, 
Sue  unaffectedly  so;  and  presently  they  had  dropped 
into  the  familiarity  of  calling  each  other  Jennie  and  Sue. 
Jennie  was  definitely  drawn  toward  the  other,  though  she 
did  not  quite  know  why.  Not  till  the  events  of  a  much 
later  time  brought  her  a  clearer  vision  was  Jennie  to  ap- 
preciate the  fullness  of  her  own  fortune  in  making  such 
a  friend,  or  was  she  really  to  understand  Sue.  Sue 
was  too  uncomplex  for  her  to  understand  at  present: 
not  very  clever,  not  very  aggressive,  just  a  simple, 
unassuming,  likable  girl  —  a  splendid  specimen  of  her 

type. 

At  length  the  two  girls  got  into  bed.  But  though  she 
was  worn  and  the  bed  was  marvelously  soft  and  caress- 
ing, there  was  no  immediate  sleep  for  Jennie.  This  was 
the  first  period  she  had  had  in  which  she  could  think 
without  interruption,  could  consider  the  many  ele- 
ments of  her  situation.  She  lay  there  in  the  darkness, 


84  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

athrill  with  exultation.  What  a  world  of  things  had 
happened  in  the  last  three  days!  She  was  now  at  last 
really  started  in  her  new  life  —  she  had  started  up  — 
she  was  going  far  —  very  far!  ... 

Then  her  mind  shot  back  to  the  Pekin.  She  thought 
of  her  father,  whom  she  loved  more  than  any  other 
person,  and  whom  according  to  the  arrangement  she 
was  never  to  see  again,  and  if  seeing  him  by  chance  she 
was  not  to  recognize.  And  she  thought  about  her  Aunt 
Mary  —  kind  Aunt  Mary!  And  about  Harry  Edwards. 
The  way  he  talked  about  caring  for  her  was,  of  course, 
all  nonsense;  but  just  now  she  felt  tender  toward  Harry 
—  he  really  was  a  nice  boy.  .  .  .  They  were  all  cut  out  of 
her  life.  Definitely !  Forever !  She  cried  softly  into  her 
pillow.  .  .  . 

And  then  she  thought  of  Slim  Jackson.  Well,  at  any 
rate,  Slim  was  one  person  severance  from  whom  would 
cause  no  sorrow  in  this  new  life  she  was  entering 
upon. .  .  . 

At  about  the  time  Jennie  was  thinking  of  the  Pekin, 
Uncle  George  entered  that  smoke-clouded  establish- 
ment. His  old  eyes  noted  a  change  or  two,  and  then, 
catching  Jerry's  attention  and  followed  by  him,  he 
stepped  on  back  into  Black  Jerry's  office.  The  door 
closed  behind  the  two,  shutting  out  the  dance-music, 
and  they  sat  down. 

"I  see  you  got  a  new  guy  out  there  instead  of  Slim 
Jackson,"  said  Uncle  George.  "What's  happened  to 
Slim?" 

"Told  me  to-day  he  just  had  a  swell  opening  in  vaude- 
ville. Said  he  had  to  grab  it  quick  or  lose  the  chance. 
So  I  let  him  go." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  85 

"Is  he  going  to  be  teamed  up  with  that  Daisy 
White?" 

"I  don't  know.  The  main  thing  he  said  was  that  he 
sure  was  going  to  make  a  hit." 

"Mebbe  he  will,  Jerry  —  mebbe  he  will."  Uncle 
George  nodded.  "He's  clever,  that  guy,  and  if  he  gets 
agoing  he'll  never  have  to  slow  down  his  pace  because 
he 's  carrying  a  lot  of  heavy  scruples.  Almost  anything 
may  happen  to  him." 

"I  ain't  interested  in  what  happens  to  him,"  Jerry 
said  impatiently.  "  I  want  to  know  what's  happened  to 
Jennie." 

So  Uncle  George  told  about  Braithewood  Hall  and 
leaving  Jennie  there. 

"Do  you  think  she  can  put  it  across  in  a  swell  joint 
like  that?" 

"I  think  she  can,  Jerry." 

"Well,  then"  —  with  suppressed  gloating — "she's 
really  got  her  big  chance!" 

"Yes,  she's  really  got  her  big  chance.  We've  done 
our  job,  Jerry.  We're  through  —  you  and  me." 

And  then  Uncle  George  amended  a  previous  remark. 
"She'll  put  it  across,  Jerry,  provided  you  stick  to  your 
promise  to  keep  out  of  her  life." 

"Oh,  I  '11  keep  out  of  her  life  all  right."  And  then  he 
added  grimly:  "That  is,  unless  some  one  tries  to  put 
something  over  on  her." 

"Sure,  Jerry,  in  which  case  we'll  all  be  heard 
from." 

The  two  fell  silent.  And  while  Jennie  lay  excitedly 
visioning  her  new  life,  the  two  men  who  had  brought 
her  into  it,  unmoral,  affectionate  men  —  in  this  case 
high-minded  and  natural  and  consistent  according  to 


86  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

their  own  standards  —  the  two  sat  gazing  fixedly  across 
the  little  table  into  the  other's  set  face :  —  and  behind 
the  dark,  masklike  face  of  Black  Jerry,  deep  down  in 
the  heart  which  the  world  believed  had  no  existence, 
there  throbbed  infinite  loss  and  infinite  exultation. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

JENNIE  SHAPES  HER  FUTURE 

WHEN  Jennie  awoke  the  next  morning,  she  was 
for  several  moments  as  a  person  of  lost  mem- 
ory cast  ashore  upon  an  unknown  land.    Not 
till  she  had  gazed  around  the  large  blue-and-white  room 
and  over  at  Sue's  honey-colored  hair  on  the  pillow  in  the 
near-by  bed,  did  she  recall  what  had  happened  to  her 
and  where  she  was. 

She  felt  dizzy  with  the  responsibility  of  her  position : 
so  much  danger  behind  her  —  so  much  that  was  un- 
known before  her  —  herself  so  ignorant  of  even  the 
commonplaces  of  this  new  world. 

It  was  now  all  up  to  her  —  up  to  her  alone !  She  lay 
there,  carefully  thinking  her  way  forward,  shrewdly 
planning  her  course.  For  the  present  she  would  be  very 
quiet,  would  remain  in  the  inconspicuous  background; 
she  would  unassumingly  accept  the  role  of  that  untaught 
girl  she  was  here  supposed  to  be.  If  she  was  that  girl, 
frankly  and  seemingly  without  aspirations,  the  fewer 
questions  would  be  asked  her,  the  less  hostility  would  be 
roused.  Her  first  efforts  would  be  merely  to  get  herself 
accepted  by  slow  degrees.  But  later  on,  she  was  going  to 
be  somebody  here!  She  would  do  it  somehow!  For  this 
was  the  way  up. 

Presently  the  rising  gong  sounded.  Sue  awoke  and 
rubbed  the  last  of  the  soft  sleep  from  her  eyes.  Rolling 
over,  she  saw  a  dark-eyed  girl  in  the  next  bed  who 
seemed  to  her  lonely  and  very  apprehensive. 


88  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"  Everything  is  going  to  be  all  right,  Jennie,"  she  said 
cheerily.  "Just  you  don't  be  afraid." 

"I'll  try  not  to,"  Jennie  replied  diffidently  —  keenly 
trying  to  study  her  room-mate. 

Sue  thought  a  moment ;  she  recalled  how  limited  was 
Jennie's  wardrobe.  "I  say,  Jennie,  you  told  me  last 
night  you  were  going  shopping  in  a  few  days.  We're 
about  the  same  size,  and  I  Ve  no  end  of  things ;  I  wish 
you'd  wear  'em  till  you  get  a  chance  to  buy  your  own." 

Jennie  hesitated  an  instant.  Her  present  clothes  were 
not  only  pitifully  inadequate  for,  but  strikingly  dis- 
cordant in,  such  surroundings  as  these  —  and  Jennie, 
even  if  she  had  had  few  of  them,  loved  pretty  clothes. 
But  her  shrewd  wit  prompted  her  to  a  decision  in  keep- 
ing with  the  plan  she  had  just  made  for  herself. 

"You're  awfully  good,  Sue  —  but,  no,  thank  you," 
she  said,  and  got  into  the  plain  dress  which  had  pro- 
voked Gloria's  sarcasm  the  night  before. 

After  breakfast  she  was  summoned  by  Miss  Gresham 
into  the  study  where  she  and  Uncle  George  had  been  re- 
ceived. Miss  Gresham  briefly  examined  Jennie,  assigned 
her  courses  for  the  first  half-year,  then  said  in  her  care- 
fully modulated  voice : 

"Jennie,  I  have  arranged  for  Miss  Van  der  Brunt,  the 
social  director  of  the  school,  to  motor  into  New  York 
with  you  after  an  early  luncheon  to-day  and  help  select 
the  new  outfit  your  guardian  desired  purchased  for 
you." 

"If  you  don't  mind,  Miss  Gresham,"  said  Jennie, 
"  I  'd  like  to  wait  for  a  few  days." 

Miss  Gresham  raised  her  handsome  eyebrows.  In  her 
experience  it  was  something  distinctly  out  of  the  ordi- 
nary for  a  girl  to  avoid  new  clothes. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  89 

"Why,  Jennie?" 

"If  you  please,  it  was  a  long  trip  here,  and  I  'm  rather 
tired,"  replied  Jennie. 

"Just  as  you  like,"  said  Miss  Gresham. 

And  so  Jennie  went  about  in  her  old  clothes  —  not 
altogether  pleased  with  them,  but  having  the  approval 
of  her  shrewd,  patient  plan.  Better  to  be  laughed  at 
for  her  crudity  and  ignorance  than  sneered  at  for  being  a 
climber.  The  change  must  be  made  so  gradually  that 
it  would  attract  no  attention.  She  could  afford  to 
wait. 

For  the  first  day  or  two  in  this  wonderful  school,,  be- 
neath the  quiet,  retiring  manner  which  she  showed  her 
mates,  her  every  nerve  was  stretched  to  tightest  suspense 
For  all  her  decision,  the  present,  the  future,  existed  for 
her  only  in  terms  of  pressing  and  constantly  iterated 
questions  —  the  same  questions  that  had  risen  in  her 
when  she  had  rolled  hither  with  Uncle  George.  What 
was  life  here  really  going  to  be?  Could  she  really  make 
good  in  such  a  place?  Would  the  police  trace  her? 
Would  she,  despite  her  guard  Upon  herself,  thoughtlessly 
commit  some  error  which  might  lead  to  her  betrayal? 

On  her  second  day  at  Braithewood  Hall  this  thought- 
lessness overtook  her.  She  had  gone  in  bathing  in  a  suit 
borrowed  from  Sue  Harrison;  in  these  sheltered  waters 
of  Long  Island  Sound  the  water  continued  warm  enough 
for  bathing  throughout  October.  Conscious  of  nothing 
but  the  animal  delight  of  being  in  the  water,  away  she 
went  with  a  racing  stroke,  white  arms  swiftly  flashing, 
her  face  deep  in  the  water,  out  around  the  float  and 
back  to  the  bathing-pier.  On  the  pier  a  group  of  girls 
in  bathing  dress  were  gazing  at  her  in  surprise.  It  was 
Gloria  Raymond  who  spoke  for  them. 


90  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"I  say,  you  there,"  she  drawled,  "did  you  learn  that 
crawl  out  on  the  deserts  of  Wyoming?" 

For  a  moment  Jennie  was  all  consternation :  had  she 
by  her  indiscretion  opened  the  way  for  her  exposure  — 
and  the  coming  of  Casey?  She  hid  her  dismay  under  the 
business  of  wringing  out  her  skirt ;  then  she  said  calmly : 

"It  was  n't  really  a  desert  where  I  came  from.  There 
was  a  river,  and  my  uncle  taught  me  to  swim." 

She  saw  that,  though  still  surprised,  they  believed 
her.  The  tense  moment  passed,  and  she  breathed  easier. 
What  if  these  fine  young  ladies  really  knew  the  truth: 
that  she  had  learned  to  swim  in  the  enclosed  public  baths 
which  are  tied  up  against  the  city  docks  during  summer 
time,  that  she  had  been  something  of  a  star  in  these  com- 
mon places  —  that  Black  Jerry,  who  loved  the  water 
and  was  a  mighty  swimmer,  had  for  years  past  taken 
her  once  or  twice  a  week  on  slack  summer  afternoons 
down  to  Coney  Island  or  Brighton  Beach? 

But  after  the  first  few  days  had  passed  and  no  police 
had  come,  the  fear  of  outside  interference  began  to  sub- 
side in  Jennie.  As  for  her  possible  betraying  blunders, 
reason  began  to  quiet  her  on  that  point.  She  reminded 
herself  that  she  was  expected  to  make  mistakes  —  she 
decided  it  was  in  keeping  with  her  character  to  make 
them,  and  perhaps  make  a  few  consciously;  and  so 
when  she  did  make  real  blunders  she  was  not  greatly 
discomfited.  She  bore  in  mind  one  sage  injunction  of 
Uncle  George:  "When  in  doubt  about  what  to  do,  wait 
and  watch  what  the  other  girl  does  with  her  fork."  She 
was  constantly  watching  what  the  other  girl  did  with 
her  "fork."  She  noted  everything  —  she  remembered 
it  —  and  one  at  a  time,  she  made  little  changes. 

After  a  week  Jennie  consented  to  a  shopping  expedi- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  91 

tion  in  New  York  with  the  very  erect  Miss  Van  der 
Brunt.  Even  then  she  chose  only  the  fewest  and  sim- 
plest things  possible  —  though  it  hurt  her  to  give  up 
the  pretty  garments  that  might  have  been  hers  by 
merely  saying  yes.  In  this  procedure  she  was  guided 
not  only  by  her  own  decision  to  play  down  to  her  part, 
but  by  the  canny  realization  that  she  did  not  yet  know, 
of  her  own  knowledge,  what  a  girl  in  her  station  should 
wear ;  if  she  bought  much  now,  even  under  the  guidance 
of  Miss  Van  der  Brunt,  most  of  her  purchases  would 
have  to  be  kept  discreetly  in  reserve,  or  else  go  into  the 
discard.  She  would  wait  and  watch;  and  when  she 
bought  she  would  buy  what  was  right. 

Miss  Van  der  Brunt,  unaccustomed  to  such  restraint 
in  her  charges,  was  amazed ;  she  thought  Jennie  penuri- 
ous and  tried  to  urge  the  purchase  of  what  seemed  to 
her  necessities  —  but  Jennie,  in  her  quiet  manner,  kept 
to  her  decision.  Later  on,  the  correct,  unimaginative 
taste  of  Miss  Van  der  Brunt  was  to  help  Jennie  greatly 
in  avoiding  what  was  spurious  or  pretentious,  or  out-of- 
date,  or  too  daringly  anticipatory  of  the  fashion  — 
though  it  was  never  to  help  her  in  the  final  selection  of 
those  things  which  seemed  a  part  of  her  individuality. 

The  academic  work  at  Braithewood  Hall  Jennie 
found  easy,  after  the  tasks  to  which  her  public  school 
life  had  accustomed  her.  But  she  was  bewildered  by 
some  of  the  other  courses  which  were  essentials  of  her 
education.  There  was  M.  Dubois,  who  gave  the  Metro- 
politan Opera  House  as  his  address,  a  fussy,  voluble 
gentleman  of  frenzied  gestures,  who  came  out  three 
times  a  week  to  give  them  lessons  in  classical  and  aes- 
thetic dancing,  also  the  ballet.  There  was  Miss  Van 
der  Brunt  (of  a  very  old  New  York  family  indeed)  who 


92  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

drilled  them  in  how  to  start  and  keep  in  motion  a  polite 
conversation;  who  rehearsed  them  in  how  to  enter  a 
drawing-room,  how  to  take  a  gentleman's  arm  in  going 
in  to  dinner,  how  to  say  good-bye  to  a  hostess.  And 
then  every  Friday  afternoon  Miss  Gresham  "received" 
in  her  study,  where  tea  was  served  with  all  the  details 
of  propriety,  and  where  all  the  formalities  were  observed 
that  obtained  in  the  grown-up  life  that  lay  a  few  years 
ahead. 

And  once  a  fortnight  a  formal  dinner  was  served, 
complete,  if  not  in  regard  to  actual  food,  at  least  in 
regard  to  appurtenances.  The  dozen  pieces  of  silver  at 
her  place  at  first  had  Jennie  confused;  here,  indeed, 
was  real  necessity  for  the  literal  following  of  that  figur- 
ative injunction  about  waiting  to  see  what  the  other 
girl  did  with  her  fork. 

In  these  matters  also  Jennie  did  her  best  —  rather, 
as  far  as  actual  performance  went,  a  little  less  than  her 
best.  To  learn  such  things  was  what  she  was  here  for. 
But  in  the  midst  of  these  august  ceremonials  Jennie 
would  sometimes  think  of  her  father,  and  within  herself 
she  would  smile  at  what  would  be  the  amazement  of 
Black  Jerry  and  her  old  friends  at  the  Pekin,  could  they 
only  behold  these  maneuvers  and  her  soberly  taking 
a  part  in  them. 

Of  all  these  "cultural  branches"  she  cared  most  for 
the  work  of  the  dancing  master  and  the  vocal  teacher. 
But  here,  too,  she  tried  to  hold  herself  back  —  and  when 
the  joy  of  dancing  made  her  forget  and  she  let  herself 
out  and  surprised  the  little  dancing-master,  she  immedi- 
ately counteracted  it  with  a  display  of  awkwardness  and 
stupidity  that  sent  the  little  man  into  one  of  his  worst 
fits  of  artistic  frenzy.  She  pursued  the  same  course 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  93 

with  the  vocal  master.  By  both  despairing  teachers  she 
was  considered  a  mediocrity  gifted  with  streaks  of  unde- 
pendable  and  undeveloped  talent  —  "but  impossible  — 
altogether  impossible!"  But  from  both  —  and  both 
knew  their  business  —  Jennie,  despite  appearances, 
absorbed  every  point. 

Weeks  passed,  and  months,  and  Jennie,  watching 
everything,  with  a  growing  sense  of  security,  fitted  more 
and  more  into  the  routine  of  the  school.  Most  of  the 
girls  paid  little  heed  to  Jennie  —  they  were  too  much 
engrossed  with  themselves,  with  their  chums,  with 
sports,  and  quite  incidentally  with  their  school  work. 
And  when  they  did  giggle  a  bit  at  her,  or  were  superior, 
or  snubbed  her,  she  gave  no  sign  and  tried  not  to  care. 

From  that  first  evening  in  the  dining-room  she  knew 
that  Gloria  Raymond  was  to  be  unchangeably  hostile. 
Jennie  had  early  sensed  that  Gloria  held  the  somewhat 
anomalous  position  of  being  the  most  autocratic,  the 
most  sought-after,  girl  in  the  school  —  and  secretly 
the  girl  most  feared  and  most  hated. 

It  was  Gloria  who  made  her  most  strikingly  forget 
her  meek  role,  and  who  started  her  upward  out  of  her 
self-enjoined  obscurity.  One  February  day  in  the 
squash  court  during  a  match  between  Sue  and  Gloria, 
both  in  white  sweaters  and  knickerbockers,  there  was 
a  dispute  over  a  point  in  which  the  usually  yielding 
Sue  doggedly  maintained  that  she  was  right.  Gloria's 
temper  mounted  into  swift  flame,  and  she  called  Sue 
a  liar.  Jennie,  the  only  onlooker  and  a  perfunctory  on- 
looker at  that,  knew  nothing  about  squash,  but  she  was 
fully  acquainted  with  the  word  "liar"  and  what  people 
did  at  the  sound  of  that  word.  Instantly  and  instinc- 
tively she  sprang  before  Gloria,  her  black  eyes  gleaming. 


94  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"You  take  that  back!"  she  cried. 

"I'll  take  nothing  back!"  snapped  Gloria,  at  first 
not  noting  who  Sue's  champion  was.  And  then  as  she 
saw,  she  added  in  a  drawl  that  was  vibrant  with  anger, 
"Hello,  if  it  is  n't  that  Wyoming  runt!" 

"You  take  back  what  you  said  about  Sue!"  repeated 
Jennie. 

For  answer  Gloria's  right  hand  shot  out  furiously. 
Jennie  was  slighter  and  half  a  head  shorter,  but  she  had 
fought  since  she  was  a  child,  and  in  her  later  years  she 
and  Harry  Edwards  had  scuffled  good-naturedly,  and 
he  had  shown  her  many  tricks  of  the  wrestling  game  of 
which  he  was  a  devotee.  Jennie  caught  Gloria's  wrist 
before  the  darting,  clawlike  hand  could  reach  her  face, 
gave  the  arm  a  sharp  twist  and  tripped  her  opponent  — 
and  the  rest  of  what  happened  happened  so  quickly 
that  it  seemed  to  have  only  beginning  and  end.  There 
was  Gloria  lying  on  her  back  on  the  floor,  and  on  her 
proud  body  sat  Jennie,  holding  each  wrist  in  a  grip  so 
clever  that  all  the  other's  writhing  could  not  avail  to 
break  it;  in  fact  so  cunning  were  the  twisting  grips  that 
Gloria's  struggles  served  only  to  start  excruciating 
pains  to  shoot  through  elbows  and  shoulders  —  with  the 
result  that  she  subsided,  gasping. 

"Let  me  up!"  she  demanded. 

"I  will  just  as  soon  as  you  have  apologized  to  Sue." 

"I'll  not  do  it!" 

1 '  All  right.  I  guess  I  can  stand  this  as  long  as  you  can. ' ' 

" If  you  don't  let  me  up,"  fumed  Gloria,  " I'll  call  for 
help  —  and  then  you'll  see  the  trouble  you'll  get  in!" 

"Please  call,"  Jennie  urged  tauntingly.  "Don't  hold 
back  because  of  worry  over  the  trouble  I'd  get  in. 
Call!  —  I'm  sure  all  the  girls  would  just  love  to  run 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  95 

in  and  see  what 's  here  —  and  it  would  be  something  for 
them  to  talk  about  all  the  while  you  're  in  school  and  for 
years  afterwards  —  the  wild  runt  from  Wyoming  sit- 
ting on  the  elegant  Miss  Gloria  Raymond's  stomach. 
So  please  do  cry  out,  there's  a  dear." 

Gloria  was  consumed  with  fury.  But  she  realized  she 
dared  not  carry  out  her  threat.  She  was  helpless. 

"What  do  you  want?"  she  demanded  huskily. 

44  Just  say,  'Sue,  I  was  wrong,  and  I  'm  sorry  I  called 
you  what  I  did.'" 

Gloria  glared  and  choked  for  a  moment.  But  in  a 
husky  voice  she  repeated  the  sentence. 

"And  now  say,  'Sue,  I  promise  I'll  never  do  any- 
thing of  the  sort  again.' " 

That,  likewise,  Gloria  repeated.  Jennie  promptly 
released  her,  and  Gloria  struggled  to  her  feet. 

"  I  don't  ask  you  to  promise  this,  Gloria  dear,"  Jennie 
went  on,  "for  it's  a  promise  you  probably  can't  keep  — 
but  in  spite  of  who  you  are,  just  try  to  be  as  much  of 
a  lady  as  you  can." 

Gloria  trembled  all  over,  her  face  was  a  dull  scarlet, 
her  eyes  glowered  with  a  malignant  fire,  but  she  choked 
impotently.  Without  speaking,  she  turned  abruptly 
and  hurried  out  of  the  squash  court. 

Sue,  who  had  stood  stupefied  during  this  swift  clash 
of  instincts  that  were  supposed  to  have  been  eradicated 
generations  before  one  came  into  the  refined  atmosphere 
of  Braithewood  Hall,  now  came  to  life. 

"Jennie!"  she  breathed.    "Jennie!" 

"I  wish  dad  could  have  seen  that!"  exclaimed  Jen- 
nie :  —  and  the  sight  of  those  two  figures  in  their  re- 
spective positions  might  indeed  have  given  grim  joy  to 
Black  Jerry. 


96  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Your  father,  Jennie?  I  thought  your  father  was 
dead." 

Jennie  quickly  rectified  the  slip.  "I  sometimes  call 
my  guardian  dad." 

"But,  Jennie,"  Sue  cried,  "Gloria  will  never  forget 
that  —  she'll  hate  you  all  her  life!  And  there 's nothing 
she  won't  do!" 

"Let  her  go  to  it  —  I'm  not  afraid  of  her!"  Jennie 
returned  defiantly.  And  then  she  remembered  that  she 
had  not  played  her  role  as  she  had  written  it  for  herself ; 
she  was  suddenly  contrite  and  was  the  mild,  unassuming 
person  she  had  created. 

"I'm  awfully  sorry,  Sue,"  she  said  with  her  best 
humility.  "I  forgot  myself — I  am  terribly  crude  — 
I  don't  know  at  all  how  to  behave  myself." 

"It  was  wonderful,  Jennie!"  Sue  kissed  her  impul- 
sively. "And  Gloria  was  trying  to  cheat.  Only — I 
guess  we'd  better  say  nothing  about  it." 

"I'll  not,"  replied  Jennie. 

And  they  did  not,  and  it  is  to  be  presumed  that 
Gloria  was  at  no  pains  to  publish  the  incident.  But  in 
the  close  community  of  a  girls'  school  secrets  seem  not 
to  require  the  medium  of  words;  they  seem  to  have 
ways  known  only  to  themselves  for  escaping  the  con- 
finement of  human  silence.  And  so  the  encounter  in 
the  squash-court  house  did  come  to  be  talked  about  — 
in  whispered  privacy ;  but  never  directly  to  Jennie  and 
never  directly  to  Gloria.  The  latter  was  accorded  the 
same  deference  as  before  and  allowed  the  same  domina- 
tion —  which  may  or  may  not  be  a  commentary  on  the 
human  species;  but  thereafter  Jennie  began  to  receive 
little  attentions  from  the  other  girls,  never  in  the  open 
and  never  marked.  From  this  time  there  began  a 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  97 

subtle  change  in  the  attitude  toward  her  that  was  to 
grow;  it  was  from  this  time  she  began  slowly  to  be 
somebody. 

But  as  the  months  passed,  there  was  not  a  day  that 
she  did  not  think  of  her  father  and  her  Aunt  Mary  — 
of  all  the  people  who  belonged  to  the  world  which  she 
had  left;  not  a  day  that  in  her  there  were  not  deep 
yearnings  to  see  them.  The  one  thing  of  her  present  life 
that  she  did  not  like  was  the  thing  which  was  its  very 
foundation  —  that  she  was  not  to  see  her  father  again. 
Nor  Aunt  Mary.  Nor  —  nor  Harry  Edwards.  In  those 
night  hours  when  she  lay  yearningly  awake,  looking 
back  upon  the  people  of  her  past,  she  wondered  if  the 
parting  really  had  to  be  forever  —  or  if  there  might 
come  some  unguessable  twist  of  affairs,  as  great  as  that 
which  had  landed  her  here,  which  would  sometime, 
somehow,  bring  her  life  again  in  touch  with  those 
whom  she  had  left. 

In  her  lived  two  great  desires:  to  reach  forward  and 
grasp  whatever  prizes  might  develop  in  the  vague, 
rainbowed  future  —  to  reach  back  and  hold  tight  to  a 
few  persons  of  the  past. 

In  her  wondering  over  the  plans  she  had  so  carefully 
laid,  she  gave  shrewd  consideration  to  every  element 
which  might  influence  her  career.  To  every  element 
except  one,  and  of  that  she  did  not  think  at  all:  that 
element  was  the  unknown  person  who  existed  in  her 
even  then  —  existed  germinally  —  for  in  most  of  us  our 
real  selves  lie  deep  hidden,  and  many  of  us  go  on  to 
the  end  without  the  seed  sending  forth  its  first  sprout, 
without  our  guessing  who  we  really  are. 


CHAPTER  IX 

BLOOD  CALLS  TO  BLOOD 

THE  long  and  lonely  Christmas  vacation  Jennie 
had  spent  at  Braithewood  Hall.  But  in  March 
there  came  a  cordial  letter  from  Sue's  mother 
asking  her  to  spend  the  Easter  holidays  as  Sue's  guest. 
Sue  was  happily  importunate.  For  several  days  Jennie 
wavered  between  desire  and  fear:  could  she  carry  her- 
self through  the  new  experience  of  such  a  visit?  But 
she  saw  the  visit  as  another  rung  in  her  cautious  upward 
climb,  and  in  the  end  she  decided  to  go.  She  would 
be  that  unpretentious,  frankly  unfinished  girl  from  the 
West  who  knew  nothing.  That  attitude  had  saved  her 
thus  far;  it  might  save  her  in  this  new  adventure  she 
was  entering  upon. 

At  the  close  of  a  March  day  the  Harrison  car  dis- 
charged the  two  girls  before  one  of  a  row  of  graystone 
houses  off  Fifth  Avenue.  Jennie  followed  Sue  in  with 
a  palpitant  sense  that  this  was  the  beginning  of  another 
phase  of  her  new  life  —  though  she  then  had  no  pre- 
monition of  how  important  this  new  phase  was  to  be. 
The  interior  of  the  house  seemed  to  her  unbelievably 
spacious  and  splendid;  having  no  experience  by  which 
to  form  her  critical  judgment,  she  had  the  swift,  vague 
impression  that  this  house  was  an  individualized  expres- 
sion, for  a  few,  of  those  things  which  Miss  Gresham's 
school  expressed  for  many. 

Almost  at  once  Sue  was  being  embraced  by  her 
mother.  With  her  quick  eyes  Jennie  studied  this  im- 
portant factor  in  her  new  situation.  Mrs.  Harrison 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  99 

seemed  to  her  very  much  like  Sue:  considerate,  and 
not  very  discerning.  Physically,  she  was  of  that  blonde 
type  which  seems  to  mature  but  not  to  age. 

Mrs.  Harrison,  turning,  gave  Jennie  her  hand  and 
kissed  her.  "I'm  so  glad  you  could  come,"  she  said 
warmly.  "Sue  has  talked  about  you  every  time  I've 
seen  her,  and  written  about  you  in  every  letter,  since 
school  opened." 

Jennie  plunged  boldly.  "Then  Sue's  told  you  what 
a  regular  barbarian  I  am,"  she  said  with  her  air  of 
naive  frankness. 

"She's  told  me  you  are  very  modest,  but  that  for 
all  your  modesty  you  are  very  clever."  The  essence 
of  Mrs.  Harrison's  nature  was  an  unhesitating  kindness. 
"The  other  things,  they  are  just  superficialities  that 
you  '11  easily  learn  if  you  have  n't  already  done  so.  I  'd 
not  worry  about  them." 

"You  are  very  good,  Mrs.  Harrison." 

Mrs.  Harrison  kissed  her  again.  "And  now,  Sue, 
you  and  Jennie  had  better  go  up  to  your  rooms.  By 
the  time  you're  unpacked  and  dressed,  dinner  will  be 
served." 

"  Is  n't  mother  just  a  wonderful  dear ! "  Sue  exclaimed 
a  minute  later  in  Jennie's  bedroom  which  connected 
with  her  own. 

"That's  not  half  what  she  is,  Sue.  You  don't  know 
how  lucky  you  are;  I  hardly  remember  ever  having  had 
a  mother." 

"You'll  like  my  father,  too.  And  maybe  you'll  like 
Kenneth  —  if  he  does  n't  show  that  he  thinks  he's  too 
awfully  grown  up." 

An  hour  later,  in  the  drawing-room,  Jennie  was  being 
introduced  to  Mr.  Harrison  and  then  to  his  son.  The 


i  oo  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

father  had  a  pleasant  face  when  he  smiled;  but  the 
moment  the  occasion  for  the  smile  was  gone,  his  atten- 
tion went  automatically  to  what  lay  within  his  mind, 
and  the  observant  Jennie  noted  that  his  face  took  on 
that  set,  masklike,  rather  heavy  look,  which  she  had 
noted  as  a  common  characteristic  of  the  pictures  she 
had  seen  in  magazines  and  newspapers  of  the  men  who 
manage  large  affairs.  Kenneth  Harrison  was  a  slender 
young  fellow  of  twenty-five,  an  amused  smile  of  good- 
natured  worldliness  on  his  pale  face,  grace  and  self- 
possession  in  all  his  movements.  He  seemed  to  Jennie 
quite  the  handsomest  young  man  she  had  ever  met. 
She  would  have  been  sorely  embarrassed  but  for  the 
perfect  ease  with  which  he  carried  off  the  introduction 
and  their  first  sentences. 

At  the  table  Jennie  was  seated  between  Mr.  Harrison 
and  Kenneth.  Never  before  had  she  been  at  such  a 
family  dinner;  and  never  before  had  she  sat  with  a 
gentleman  in  evening  clothes  at  either  elbow,  a  situa- 
tion that  was  made  more  difficult  by  both  being  stran- 
gers. She  summoned  her  resources  for  the  ordeal.  But 
after  all,  there  was  not  much  actual  strain  put  upon  her. 
When  she  was  addressed  and  the  talk  seemed  to  be 
leading  her  into  difficulties,  Mrs.  Harrison  was  in- 
stantly coming  to  her  aid  with  gracious  tact  and  humor. 
And  then  most  of  the  conversation  was  between  Ken- 
neth and  Sue,  and  consisted  mainly  of  a  brother's 
privileged  raillery  at  his  younger  sister.  He  seemed  very 
clever  to  Jennie;  but  she  plainly  saw  that  he  regarded 
Sue  with  amused  superiority  as  only  a  schoolgirl.  And 
for  all  his  courteous  attention  to  her  own  self,  she  was 
aware  that  to  him  she  was  only  that  most  negligible 
of  creatures,  the  school  friend  of  a  half-grown  sister: 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  101 

so  vast  is  the  abyss  between  twenty-five  in  the  male 
and  sixteen  in  the  other  sex,  when  sixteen  is  still  in 
school  and  wears  its  skirts  an  inch  or  so  short  of  woman- 
hood. 

Directly  after  dinner  Kenneth  left  the  house.  "I'll 
bet  he's  gone  over  to  see  Gloria  Raymond,"  whispered 
Sue.  "I  wish  he  could  be  married  to  her  for  about  a 
year,  and  then  it  could  all  be  wiped  out." 

"Why?" 

"He's  such  a  fool  about  her  and  he's  so  stuck  on  him- 
self," replied  Sue  with  a  sister's  candor.  "I  think  a 
year  of  Gloria  might  help  him  a  lot." 

"What  does  he  do?" 

"He's  in  business  with  my  father.  He  thinks  he's  a 
very  clever  business  man,  and  I  guess  he  is,  too.  And 
another  thing  he  does  is  to  go  to  the  theater.  He  hardly 
ever  misses  a  first  night  and  I  guess  he  knows  every 
actor  and  actress  who's  at  all  prominent." 

"He  does  seem  to  know  how  to  get  on  with  people 
very  well,"  remarked  Jennie. 

"He  certainly  does,  and  he  knows  it,  and  he  counts 
on  it.  That's  what  makes  him  so  sure  of  himself  — 
that's  why  you  wish  his  foot  would  slip  and  he'd  fall." 

Despite  Sue's  sisterly  criticisms,  Jennie  thought  him 
wonderfully  attractive.  A  pleasant  home  evening  fol- 
lowed, and  after  Jennie  was  in  bed  and  the  lights  were 
out,  and  she  lay  going  over  accounts,  she  decided  with 
thrilling  satisfaction  that  she  had  borne  herself  very 
well.  She  was  indeed  on  her  way  up!  Here  she  was, 
now  a  welcome  guest  in  this  splendid  home ;  six  months 
before,  down  at  the  Pekin  — 

But  as  her  mind  went  back  to  the  Pekin  she  thought 
of  her  father,  and  the  longing  to  see  him,  which  so  often 


i  O2  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

had  risen  in  her  at  Braithewood  Hall,  surged  poignantly 
upon  her  once  more.  To  be  sure,  Uncle  George  had 
said  she  and  her  father  must  not  see  each  other  again; 
to  be  sure,  a  meeting  would  be  dangerous  —  but  she 
wanted  to  see  him !  —  merely  to  see  him !  Could  it 
possibly  be  managed  while  she  was  in  the  city?  Surely 
she  could  manage  it  somehow!  Excitement,  desire, 
ran  high.  She  slipped  eagerly  out  of  bed  —  hesitated 
—  then  crept  back  in  again.  Reason  had  out-argued 
desire.  It  was  too  dangerous.  Her  whole  future,  open- 
ing so  splendidly,  would  be  risked,  might  be  ruined,  by 
such  an  attempt. 

But  though  reason  had  put  down  desire,  yet  even 
when  she  was  not  actively  thinking  of  it,  desire  per- 
sisted in  her  subconscious  mind. 

The  next  afternoon  —  it  was  a  Saturday  —  she  and 
Sue  and  Mrs.  Harrison,  attended  by  the  agreeably 
tolerant  Kenneth,  went  forth  upon  a  small  foraging 
expedition  among  Fifth  Avenue  shops.  Jennie  was  in 
a  tailored  suit,  part  of  her  later  purchases  chosen  with 
the  aid  of  that  estimable  adviser,  Miss  Van  der  Brunt, 
and  a  glance  she  caught  from  Mrs.  Harrison  gave  her 
the  gratifying  sensation  that  her  company  found  no 
fault  with  her  appearance. 

They  had  left  the  car  at  the  curb  to  follow  along,  and 
had  been  in  and  out  of  half  a  dozen  shops,  and  were  pro- 
ceeding on  foot  to  another  half  a  block  farther  down  the 
street,  when  all  at  once  her  heart  went  dizzily  still: 
there  was  Harry  Edwards  walking  up  the  Avenue 
toward  them.  She  saw  he  had  not  yet  seen  her,  and 
she  turned  swiftly  and  began  to  talk  rapidly  to  Kenneth 
Harrison.  But  as  they  passed  she  was  conscious  that 
Harry  had  stopped  short  and  was  gazing  at  her.  With- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  103 

out  conscious  thought,  she  acted  upon  the  instant. 
She  dropped  her  purse,  walked  on  for  a  dozen  paces, 
then  said,  "Oh,  excuse  me,"  and  turned  and  walked 
back.  Harry  had  picked  up  her  purse  and  was  staring 
at  her  in  utter  bewilderment. 

"My  God,  Jennie!"  he  gasped  as  she  came  up. 
"What  does  this  mean?" 

"Don't  give  me  away!"  she  breathed  sharply. 

"But  I  was  told  you  had  run  off!  And  here  I  find 
you  at  home  among  such  people  —  and  in  such  clothes!  " 

"  No  time  to  explain,"  she  whispered  rapidly.  "Don't 
give  me  away!" 

"I'll  not,  Jennie.  But  Jennie  —  please!  —  can't  I 
have  a  chance  to  see  you?" 

It  was  her  subconscious  self  that  spoke  —  her  long- 
controlled  yearning.  "Tell  dad  I'll  try  to  be  home 
to-night  sometime  after  midnight,"  she  whispered. 
And  then,  taking  her  purse  from  his  hands,  "Thank 
you  very  much,"  she  said  aloud  in  her  natural  voice. 

She  rejoined  the  others.  "I  dropped  my  purse,"  she 
explained. 

"So  I  saw,"  said  Kenneth.  "And  here's  something 
just  a  bit  odd:  the  fellow  that  picked  it  up  is  one  of  the 
men  in  our  office.  Edwards  is  his  name.  Rather  a 
clever  chap,  I  believe." 

She  perceived  that  they  had  seen  nothing  more  than 
that  her  purse  had  been  returned  to  her.  She  felt  re- 
lieved. 

But  nevertheless  the  rest  of  that  afternoon,  and  all 
that  evening,  were  trying  to  her  —  her  imagination  was 
constantly  leaping  feverishly  ahead ;  but  she  kept  close 
watch  upon  herself,  and  she  managed  to  seem  the  dif- 
fident, rather  self-conscious  schoolgirl  suffering  from 


1O4  ^  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

nothing  else  than  the  occasional  and  minor  embarrass- 
ments natural  in  a  first  visit.  At  eleven  she  went  to  bed 
and  lay  tensely  in  the  darkness  until  after  twelve,  when 
she  calculated  that  all  the  household  was  asleep.  She 
slipped  out  and  crept  into  Sue's  room  and  secured  Sue's 
latch-key  from  the  dresser  where  she  had  marked  that 
Sue  had  placed  it.  Then  she  dressed  in  the  dark  —  she 
had  carefully  laid  out  her  clothes  for  this  —  and  crept 
cautiously  downstairs  and  out  the  front  door.  In  the 
deep-shadowed  vestibule  she  halted  and  peered  out. 
Fortune  was  with  her.  The  private  watchman  who 
patrolled  the  block  had  passed  the  house  and  was  pro- 
ceeding, slow  and  heavy-footed,  toward  the  west,  and 
there  was  no  one  else  in  the  street.  She  drew  her  veil 
down  to  her  nose,  buried  her  face  up  to  the  nose  in  her 
fur  boa,  and  stepped  quickly  forth  and  walked  rapidly, 
but  without  appearance  of  haste,  toward  the  east,  turn- 
ing south  at  the  first  corner. 

Taking  a  Madison  Avenue  surface  car,  she  rode  to 
Forty-second  Street,  changed  there  to  the  Subway,  got 
out  at  Fourteenth  Street,  and  walked  southward. 
Fear  constantly  clutched  at  her,  but  her  danger  was 
not  so  great  as  she  thought;  her  face  was  practically 
hidden,  and  the  hour  was  one  at  which  most  devotees 
of  late  pleasure  had  settled  down  in  their  place  of  last 
call,  and  there  was  practically  no  one  in  the  streets  who 
might  recognize  her. 

At  last  she  came  into  her  old  neighborhood  —  the 
neighborhood  that  had  been  home  to  her  until  six 
months  before.  Her  heart  beat  higher  still,  and  now  not 
so  much  from  fear.  She  paused  and  stepped  into  a  door- 
way. She  knew  the  posts  of  the  policemen  down  here, 
and  she  waited  until  she  saw  that  the  officer  stationed 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 05 

nearest  the  Pekin  was  at  the  farther  end  of  his  beat; 
then  she  hurried  on  and  approached  her  old  home. 
Fortune  again  favored  her.  No  one  was  entering  or 
leaving  the  Pekin. 

She  slipped  into  the  passage  and  glided  along  it.  But 
she  halted  at  the  side  door;  within,  the  two-piece  or- 
chestra was  playing,  there  was  dancing  and  laughing  — 
the  old  familiar  sounds  of  her  childhood,  the  tonal 
background  of  her  life.  Then  she  crept  upstairs,  and 
very  gently  she  turned  the  knob.  The  door  was  un- 
locked and  swung  open,  and  there  sat  her  father,  her 
aunt,  and  Harry  Edwards. 

She  halted  an  instant,  her  breath  coming  quick,  and 
gazed  at  her  father.  Black  Jerry  rose  at  sight  of  her. 
His  dark  face  twitched  a  trifle  and  his  big  chest  filled. 
Then  he  held  out  his  hand. 

"Howdy,  Jennie,"  he  said  gruffly.  "But  what  the 
hell—" 

"Dad!"  she  cried,  and  sprang  forward  and  threw  her 
arms  about  his  neck.  Instantly  he  strained  her  to  him. 
"Jennie!"  he  breathed —  "Jennie!" 

After  a  moment  he  let  her  go  and  she  embraced  and 
kissed  her  aunt  and  shook  hands  with  Harry. 

"But  what  you  mean,  coming  down  here?"  Jerry 
demanded. 

"  I  just  had  to  see  you,  dad." 

He  swallowed  at  that.  "Well,  I'm  glad  to  see  you, 
Jennie." 

Pride  swelled  within  him  as  he  now  took  her  in  more 
fully;  something  like  awe  came  into  his  manner.  "You 
certainly  look  like  you  been  making  good,  Jennie.  You 
certainly  do  look  the  class.  Tell  us  what  it  was  like." 

They  sat  down  and  she  told  them  about  Braithewood 


1 06  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Hall  —  about  her  plan  for  her  own  behavior  which  was 
to  carry  her  upwards  —  about  Sue  and  the  Harrisons ; 
and  all  the  while  Harry  Edwards's  eyes  were  on  her 
meditatively,  hungrily  —  in  pain  and  doubt  and  deter- 
mination. And  then  she  asked  about  things  here  at 
home,  and  then  she  asked  Harry  about  himself. 

"I'm  getting  on  fine,"  he  declared.  "Remember 
what  you  said  about  Sam  Conway  - —  about  his  being 
a  crooked  politician  who  never  helped  anybody  unless 
he  expected  to  collect  about  five  hundred  per  cent  on 
the  deal  sometime?  Well,  I  know  now  you  were  just 
about  five  hundred  per  cent  wrong.  On  the  office  sta- 
tionery Sam  does  n't  figure  as  anybody  in  the  Harrison 
firm,  but  when  it  comes  to  real  business  he's  some- 
body big,  all  right.  And  he's  solidly  behind  me,  and 
he's  pushing  me  along;  he's  my  friend  and  he's  going 
to  see  that  I  get  on." 

Jennie  enjoyed  this  relaxation  from  the  rigidities  of 
good  form,  after  having  been  for  six  months  so  industri- 
ously and  carefully  a  lady.  "And  so,  Harry,"  she  said 
tauntingly,  "because  you've  got  a  friend  to  push  you, 
I  suppose  you're  leaning  back  with  your  feet  crossed 
and  are  n't  trying." 

"I'm  trying  harder  than  any  man  in  the  firm!"  he 
bristled. 

"There 's  your  answer,  my  child.  If  you  're  getting  on 
it's  because  you're  trying.  And  what  I  said  about  Sam 
Conway  still  stands;  if  he  does  help  you,  you'll  get  a 
little  bill  for  it  some  day.  But  let 's  avoid  trouble  and 
change  the  subject.  Who  picks  your  neckties  now, 
Harry?" 

"I  guess  this  necktie  is  all  right!" 

"I'm  glad  to  hear  it,"  she  said  solicitously,  "for  it 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  107 

does  n't  look  at  all  well.  Looks  as  though  you  ought 
to  give  it  something  to  reduce  its  fever.  What's  the 
matter  with  it,  Harry  —  smallpox,  scarlet  fever,  or  just 
a  nervous  breakdown?" 

"It's  as  good  as  that  young  Harrison  had  on  this 
afternoon!"  he  flung  at  her. 

"Is  it?  Then  that  young  Harrison  was  exposed  to 
and  probably  caught  a  very  serious  sickness  this  after- 
noon —  poor  fellow." 

"From  the  way  he  was  looking  at  you,  it  was  easy 
enough  to  guess  what  sickness  the  poor  fellow  was 
catching,"  Harry  retorted  meaningly. 

Her  eyes  grew  sharp.  "Oh,  I  see  what  you  're  insinu- 
ating. I  had  n't  thought  of  that  before.  So  you're 
jealous,  are  you?" 

He  spoke  doggedly,  defiantly.  "Well,  I'm  going  to 
marry  you  some  day  —  you  just  remember  that.  And 
in  the  meantime  I  don't  want  any  man  to  make  a  fool 
of  you." 

"You  think  he  could  make  a  fool  of  me?"  she  asked 
with  a  provokingly  cool  smile.  "I'm  not  so  sure  he 
could.  It  might  be  the  other  way  around.  Anyhow,  it's 
a  fine  idea  you've  put  in  my  head.  I'll  think  it  over. 
Thanks.  And  if  I  ever  do  work  it  out,  Harry,  you  '11 
sure  be  adequately  remembered." 

He  grew  red,  and  swallowed  hard.  "I'd  like  to  be 
your  teacher  for  just  about  five  full-sized  minutes  in 
a  school  where  corporal  punishment  had  n't  been  abol- 
ished!" 

"I  say,  you  two  lay  off  each  other!"  ordered  Black 
Jerry.  "Can't  you  ever  see  each  other  without  starting 
a  dog-fight!" 

Her  teasing  manner  vanished.    "I'm  sorry,  dad  — 


io8  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

I  'm  sorry,  Harry.  I  never  saw  Kenneth  Harrison  until 
yesterday.  As  for  him,  he  has  n't  seen  me  at  all  yet. 
I'm  not  worth  bothering  to  look  at  —  just  a  shy  little 
schoolgirl.  Let 's  see  what  it  really  is  that 's  wrong  with 
that  necktie,  Harry  —  the  poor  thing!" 

She  fussed  for  a  moment  with  the  tie,  then  her  head 
darting  forward  aimed  a  kiss  at  his  cheek  which  skidded 
and  ran  off  on  to  one  of  his  ears.  Before  he  could  move 
she  had  sprung  behind  her  father  with  a  laughing  "Save 
me,  dad  —  save  me!"  The  next  moment  he  was  after 
her  with  a  free,  boyish  shout,  but  she  eluded  him,  pivot- 
ing about  her  father,  laughing  provokingly  at  him  all 
the  while. 

"Here,  can  that  stuff!"  protested  Black  Jerry.  "You 
two  toughs  are  making  too  much  noise!" 

But  for  a  moment  longer  she  laughed  at  Harry,  and 
he  made  futile  lunges  at  her.  And  then  a  voice  spoke 
from  across  the  room : 

"Hello,  Jerry.  What's  up?" 

They  all  wheeled  sharply  about,  except  Jennie  who  at 
that  instant  was  behind  her  father.  The  door  was  open 
and  in  it  stood  a  man  with  heavy  face  and  flat  feet,  hold- 
ing a  derby  hat  in  one  hand  and  a  half-smoked  cigar 
in  the  other. 

"Casey!"  ejaculated  Black  Jerry. 

' '  Sure.  Don't  I  look  like  my  picture  ? ' '  said  the  plain- 
clothes  man  good-naturedly. 

"What  are  you  doing  here?" 

"  Friendly  call.  Dropped  in  to  your  joint  to  say  how 's 
your  liver  to-night  and  was  told  you  were  up  here.  I 
knocked  —  no  one  answered  —  the  door  was  unlocked 
—  I  walked  right  in.  Why,  ain't  you  glad  to  see  me, 
Jerry?" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  109 

The  four  looked  at  him  in  strained  silence.  Then  the 
apparently  slow  eyes  of  the  detective  caught  the  skirt 
flaring  behind  Jerry's  knees.  His  face  went  loose  with 
amazement. 

"Jennie!"  he  exclaimed.  "By  God  —  Jennie  Ma- 
lone!" 

And  then  his  eyes  grew  bright  with  professional  keen- 
ness. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  FACE  OF  DISASTER 

CASEY  closed  the  door  and  without  a  word 
crossed  the  room.  Jennie,  suddenly  sick,  did 
not  try  to  evade  him  —  she  knew  such  effort 
to  be  of  no  avail.  And  when  he  had  come  around  her 
father,  her  dark  eyes  looked  straight  into  his  —  and  she 
stood  tense,  nerveless. 

"Jennie!"  Casey  ejaculated  again,  still  amazed.  "If 
it  ain't  Jennie."  He  stared  for  a  moment,  silent.  "Jen- 
nie, come  back!  —  and  dressed  like  a  queen!  What's 
the  play?" 

Suddenly,  from  a  drawer  in  the  table,  Jerry  drew  a 
short  black  pistol  and  shoved  it  hard  into  the  officer's 
stomach.  "Here 's  the  play,  Casey,"  gritted  Jerry.  "  You 
try  to  start  anything  about  Jennie  —  you  try  to  take 
my  Jennie  —  and  this  gun  goes  off!" 

Casey  turned  his  gaze  from  daughter  to  father.  His 
heavy  face  still  bore  signs  of  his  astonishment,  but  other- 
wise it  was  unperturbed. 

"I  don't  know  what  this  kid  has  been  doing,  Jerry," 
he  said  evenly — "but  whatever  it's  been,  it'll  only 
make  the  case  worse  for  her  if  that  gun  should  go  off. 
Forgery  and  jumping  her  bail  is  all  I  got  against  her  now. 
If  a  little  murder  is  thrown  in,  it'll  only  make  things 
that  much  harder  for  her  —  not  to  mention  what '11 
happen  to  you,  Jerry  —  and  somebody '11  get  her  just 
the  same.  Just  let  all  that  soak  in  a  little  while,  Jerry, 
before  you  lean  too  heavy  against  that  trigger." 

Jerry's  dark  eyes  blazed  fiercely  into  the  officer's.   A 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  ill 

minute  passed.  Then  Casey  remarked  in  his  same  even 
tone,  "Guess  you'd  better  let  me  have  that  gat,  Jerry," 
and  reaching  down  he  took  the  pistol  from  Jerry's  unre- 
sisting hand,  and  laid  it  on  top  of  the  piano.  When  he 
turned  back  it  was  to  gaze  at  Jennie. 

"Well,  kid,  it  looks  like  I  got  you  again.  I  certainly 
did  get  it  rough  on  the  last  deal  —  what  from  that 
judge  roasting  me  —  and  the  Chief  giving  it  to  me  — 
and  the  boys  at  Headquarters  giving  me  the  grand  laugh 
because  a  girl  had  put  one  over  on  me.  But  before  I  take 
you  along  with  me,  Jennie,  I  'd  like  to  know  what  you 
been  doing  the  last  six  months.  It's  something  big,  you 
bet :  six  months  ago  you  looked  like  'most  any  girl  around 
here  —  now  you  look  like  a  million  dollars.  What 's 
been  the  game?" 

"It's  none  of  your  damned  business! "  growled  Jerry. 
"Go  ahead  with  your  pinch!" 

"Oh,  yes,  it  is  some  of  my  business,"  the  even  voice 
of  Casey  returned.  "And  you  might  as  well  hand  it 
to  me  now,  for  you  know  it 's  going  to  come  out  anyhow. 
Take  your  time,  if  you  want  to.  I  can  wait  till  you  loosen 
up.  And  while  I  wait  I  '11  just  give  my  feet  a  little  time 
off  duty." 

He  sat  down  heavily  and  crossed  his  feet.  Jerry  glow- 
ered at  him,  then  he  gazed  at  Jennie  with  a  look  of 
grim  futility.  She  was  dizzy  with  fear:  more  so  than 
that  other  time  Casey  had  walked  into  her  life,  for  she 
had  more  to  lose  —  far,  far  more.  And  it  was  lost,  all 
lost!  —  she  had  a  gasping  sense  of  falling  swiftly  from  a 
great  height  —  and  with  it  a  more  poignant  sense  of 
being  haled  before  a  great  shame. 

All  were  silent.  Then  one  by  one  they  sat  down. 
And  presently  Black  Jerry  began  to  speak,  roughly, 


112  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

defiantly,  briefly  at  first  —  then  more  fully :  and  while 
he  spoke  Casey  crossed  and  recrossed  his  broad  police- 
man's feet.  Jerry  told  all :  how,  seeing  that  Jennie  was 
going  crooked  down  here  and  seeing  that  his  name  would 
always  be  a  drag  on  her  he  and  Uncle  George  had  evolved 
the  plan  to  give  her  a  chance;  told  about  Braithewood 
Hall ;  told  of  Jennie's  visit  to  the  Harrisons. 

Casey  blinked  when  the  story  was  done.  "God,  what 
a  pinch!"  he  breathed.  "And  what  a  story  for  the 
papers:  the  daughter  of  Black  Jerry  —  that  swell  school 
—  visiting  the  Harrisons!  It's  a  peach!" 

"Sure  —  it's  a  peach  for  you!"  growled  Jerry. 
"Every  paper  in  town '11  have  your  name  in  it  big  for 
the  next  few  days,  and  so '11  the  papers  all  through  the 
country.  And  you  coppers,  you  hate  publicity  just  like 
you  hate  a  shot  of  whiskey  on  a  cold  night!" 

"And  you  done  it  all  just  to  give  the  kid  a  chance?" 
demanded  Casey. 

"Ain't  I  told  you  that  already!  What  else  would  I 
do  it  for?  And  she  was  making  good,  too  —  only  she 
pulled  that  bone  of  coming  down  here." 

"What  did  you  come  down  here  for,  Jennie?" 

"I  —  I  just  wanted  to  see  dad,"  she  answered. 

1 '  Aw,  cut  out  the  questions ! ' '  snapped  Jerry.  ' '  We  're 
ready  —  go  ahead  and  make  your  pinch!" 

Casey  crossed  his  legs,  nursed  another  large  unlovely 
foot,  and  sucked  deeply  at  his  tobacco.  Then  he  gazed 
steadily  at  his  cigar  which  was  now  a  stub  so  far  gone 
that  it  could  be  held  only  by  pinching  it  with  his  nails. 
Then  he  turned  to  Harry. 

"You  there,  Edwards,"  he  said,  "we  all  know  you're 
thinking  that  a  young  guy  that's  got  a  job  waiting  him 
in  the  morning  ought  to  have  been  in  bed  long  ago.  So 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  113 

though  we're  sorry  you  gotta  go,  we'll  all  say  good- 
night." 

Harry  started.  "  I  don't  understand,  Casey." 

"Don't  you?  I  thought  what  I  said  was  simple.  I 
said  good-night." 

Harry  looked  at  Black  Jerry.  Jerry  did  not  under- 
stand either,  but  he  nodded.  Harry  stood  up,  hesitated, 
went  to  the  door,  halted  there. 

"If  you  need  me,  Jennie,  you  can  count  on  me  to  the 
limit ! "  he  stammered.  "  I  guess  that 's  all,  except  —  ex- 
cept good-night." 

"Good-night,"  she  whispered  —  and  the  door  closed 
behind  him. 

Casey  turned  to  Jennie's  aunt.  "  I  'm  sure  you  ought 
to  be  in  bed,  too.  Good-night,  ma'am." 

Bewildered,  rather  frightened,  Aunt  Mary  rose,  clung 
to  Jennie  in  a  tight  kiss,  then  passed  into  her  bedroom. 

"A  capacity  house  is  a  swell  thing  for  a  regular  show," 
remarked  Casey,  "but  it  sure  does  n't  help  this  kind  of 
a  play." 

"This  kind  of  play?"  demanded  Jerry.  "What  you 
driving  at,  Casey?" 

"The  less  them  two  knows,"  Casey  went  on,  "the  less 
lies  they  may  ever  have  to  tell.  The  fewer  we  got  in  the 
cast,  the  less  chance  of  trouble  busting  out  among  the 
actors." 

"I  don't  make  you  at  all,  Casey,"  Black  Jerry  de- 
clared. 

"No?  It's  like  this:  you  tried  to  give  your  kid  a 
chance.  Well,  I  'm  willing  to  give  the  kid  a  chance,  too  — 
provided  I  can  keep  myself  protected." 

Jennie  caught  a  sharp  breath.  Was  her  lost  world 
spinning  back  to  her? 


114  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Protected  —  how?"  exclaimed  Jerry. 

"First,  the  kid  has  got  to  make  a  clean  get-away. 
Back  to  those  Harrison  people.  And  she 's  got  to  manage 
it  so  no  one  ever  knows." 

"Yes.  What  then?  "asked  Jerry. 

"Second,  I  can't  afford  to  have  any  one  else  ever 
pinch  her.  It  would  show  me  up  something  rotten  — 
I  'd  get  roasted  worse  than  ever.  You  understand?  If 
she's  ever  arrested,  I  'm  the  guy  that's  got  to  make  the 
pinch.  See?" 

He  turned  to  Jennie.  "I  know  now  where  you  are, 
and  I'll  always  keep  an  eye  in  your  direction.  But  I 
want  you  to  promise  me,  if  ever  you  see  that  things  are 
going  bad  for  you,  and  are  about  to  go  all  bloo-ey,  that 
you  '11  get  me  quick  word,  so  I  can  beat  any  other  guy  to 
the  pinch." 

In  a  bare  whisper  Jennie  promised. 

"And  now  for  to-night's  get-away.  You  go  back  the 
same  way  you  came.  Me,  you  might  as  well  know  I  '11 
be  tailing  you  all  the  time  —  and  if  any  trouble  hap- 
pens to  you,  why,  I  gotta  jump  in  and  identify  you  and 
say  I'd  been  tailing  you  and  put  you  under  arrest. 
That 's  gotta  be  understood  —  you  gotta  be  ready  for 
it." 

"I  understand — I'll  be  ready,"  Jennie  whispered. 

Black  Jerry  had  drawn  from  a  pocket  a  big  roll  of  bills. 
"Casey,"  he  said  huskily,  "you  sure  are  a  white  man 
and—" 

' '  Damn  you,  Black  Jerry ! ' '  roared  the  other.  ' '  What 
kind  of  a  guy  do  you  think  I  am?" 

"Why,  Casey,  I  thought — ' 

"You  stick  that  dough  back  in  your  pants,  or  I  call 
all  bets  off!"  And  then  in  his  even  voice  again:  "How- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  115 

ever,  Jerry,  I  might  be  approached  by  the  offer  of  a  good 
cigar,  if  you've  got  one  that  was  n't  raised  by  them 
Eyetalian  truck-farmers  out  on  Long  Island." 

He  took  the  three  cigars  Jerry  thrust  upon  him, 
stowed  two  carefully  away,  lit  one  from  his  fast-expiring 
stub,  and  made  for  the  door.  There  he  paused. 

"Better  move  along  quick,"  he  said  to  Jennie.  "And 
say,  kid,  I  hope  you  win  out  —  to-night  and  in  the  years 
ahead.  I  hope  you  make  good  on  your  big  chance.  But 
remember  —  I  gotta  always  be  on  the  job  ready  to  nab 
you  when  you  make  your  first  slip.  Good-night,  and 
I  hope  I  never  speak  to  you  again.  So-long,  Jerry." 

When  Casey  had  gone,  Black  Jerry  gripped  Jennie's 
shoulders  with  fingers  that  sunk  deep  in  his  tensity. 
"God,  that  was  a  close  one!  Don't  you  ever  come  down 
again!  Understand?  Don't  you  ever  come  here  again !" 

"I  won't,  dad!  Never!" 

"It's  a  big  chance  you  got  and  I  don't  want  you  to 
lose  any  part  of  it."  His  dark  face  took  on  the  grim  set 
of  that  October  night  when  Uncle  George  had  proposed 
this  plan,  only  now  there  was  also  exultation  in  the  look. 
"It's  already  working  out  the  way  Uncle  George  and 
me  thought  —  you  're  already  getting  to  be  somebody. 
I  want  you  to  do  your  best  to  make  good !  You  '11  do 
that,  Jennie?" 

"I'll  do  my  best,  dad!" 

"You  've  already  done  a  lot ! "  His  eyes  gloated  pride- 
fully  over  her  trim  figure.  "A  little  while  longer  and 
you  '11  really  be  way  above  my  class  —  but  that 's  what 
I  counted  on,  Jennie.  But  don't  you  ever  come  down  here 
again!" 

He  caught  her  suddenly  to  him,  then  thrust  her  almost 
roughly  through  the  door  and  closed  it  behind  her.  She 


n6  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

stood  there  in  the  dark  for  a  moment,  her  soul  torn 
and  throbbing  with  emotions.  Then  she  remembered 
what  lay  ahead,  what  would  certainly  accompany  any 
slightest  misadventure.  She  adjusted  her  veil,  muffled 
her  face  in  her  boa,  and  slipped  cautiously  down  —  past 
the  doorway  whence  issued  the  old  familiar  hilarity  — 
out  into  the  night  and  away.  She  was  conscious  of  the 
hovering  presence  of  Casey,  and  twice  she  glimpsed 
him.  There  was  not  a  moment  that  fear  was  not  clutch- 
ing at  her,  menacing  her. 

But  yet  again  fortune  seemed  to  favor  her,  and  she 
came  at  last  to  the  Harrisons'  street.  She  paused  and 
peered  around  the  corner;  the  night  watchman  was  not 
in  sight,  so  she  hurried  for  the  Harrisons'  door.  Then 
fortune,  which  had  been  her  friend  so  long,  suddenly 
deserted  her.  As  she  started  up  the  stoop  she  heard  a 
voice  call,  "One  moment,  miss!"  and  she  saw  the  bulky 
private  watchman  bearing  down  upon  her.  She  had  a 
frantic  impulse  to  run;  but  that  course  she  instantly 
recognized  would  be  fatal.  So  she  halted.  She  looked 
quickly  back  in  the  direction  whence  she  had  come. 
Approaching  was  a  shadowy  figure  which  she  knew  to 
be  Casey. 

Something  clicked  in  the  watchman's  hand,  and  a 
tiny  light  flashed  into  Jennie's  face.  "If  you  don't 
mind,  please  lift  your  mouth  out  of  that  there  fur,"  the 
watchman  said  politely,  but  firmly. 

Jennie  could  but  obey.   She  saw  Casey  draw  nearer. 

"U'm,  I  thought  so,"  remarked  the  watchman.  "Ex- 
cuse me,  miss,  but  you  don't  live  here,  do  you?" 

"I'm  visiting  the  Harrisons." 

"That  may  be  so,  miss,  but  I  know  all  the  Harrisons 
and  all  their  servants.  And  I  never  seen  you  before." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  117 

"But  I'm  visiting  here!"  she  protested.  "And  I've 
got  a  latch-key!" 

"That  may  be  so,  miss"  —  very  respectfully  —  "but 
they's  been  a  lot  o'  clever  burglaries  pulled  off  in  this 
neighborhood,  and  I  don't  dare  take  no  risks." 

"You  mean  you  don't  believe  me?"  she  breathed. 

"I  ain't  saying  that,  miss;  I'm  just  saying  I  don't 
dare  take  no  risks.  A  clever  lady-crook  might  have  a 
latch-key  —  she  probably  would  —  and  she  'd  have 
ready  just  such  a  story  as  yours." 

Jennie  realized  that  he  did  not  believe  a  word  she  had 
said,  that  his  politeness  was  merely  to  protect  him  in  the 
event  of  the  hundredth  chance  that  it  should  turn  out 
she  had  spoken  truly.  And  she  saw  that  Casey  had 
moved  to  within  a  dozen  feet,  and  had  halted  under 
pretense  of  fumbling  for  a  match. 

"But  ring  the  bell ! "  she  cried  desperately.  ' '  They  can 
identify  me!" 

"Excuse  me  —  but  a  lot  o'  these  robberies  is  partly 
inside  cases.  The  person  that  answered  the  bell  might 
be  the  very  one  that  furnished  you  the  latch-key, 
and  of  course  the  person  would  identify  you  as  being 
O.K." 

"Then  what  are  you  going  to  do?" 

"Askin1  your  pardon,  miss  —  they's  a  police  station 
just  around  the  corner.  We'll  just  step  over  there  where 
everything '11  be  safe,  and  I'll  telephone  Mr.  or  Mrs, 
Harrison." 

In  a  police  station!  She  swayed  giddily  as  he  slipped 
a  hand  through  her  arm.  Casey  again  moved  toward  her; 
she  knew  what  Casey  was  about  to  do.  For  the  second 
time  that  night  she  believed  that  all  was  over  —  that 
she  was  done  for  —  and  there  was  nothing  whatever 


n8  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

that  she  could  do  to  save  herself  —  nothing !  She  leaned 
weakly  against  the  watchman. 

And  then  for  the  second  time  that  night  safety  came 
unexpectedly.  A  taxicab  which  had  just  turned  the 
corner  slowed  down  at  the  curb  and  a  young  man 
stepped  out. 

"Hello,  there,  Halpin.  What's  the  matter?"  he 
exclaimed. 

'"Evening,  Mr.  Harrison,"  said  the  watchman.  "I 
seen  this  young  lady  going  in  the  house  —  " 

"And  he  thought  I  might  be  a  thief,"  Jennie  inter- 
rupted, with  hysterical  relief,  "and  he  was  going  to  take 
me  to  the  police  station  — " 

"Why,  it's  Miss  Miller!"  the  young  man  exclaimed, 
staring  his  amazement. 

Jennie's  wits  responded  to  the  emergency.  "Yes. 
I  was  restless  and  could  n't  sleep.  So  I  took  Sue's  key 
and  slipped  out  for  a  walk.  I  thought  a  walk  might  help 
me  fall  asleep." 

"I'm  sure  I  beg  pardon,  miss — "  began  the  watch- 
man. 

"Was  Halpin  rough  with  you,  Miss  Miller?"  young 
Harrison  broke  in  sharply. 

"  I  'm  sure  he  did  no  more  than  what  he  thought  was 
right." 

"Thank  you,  miss.   You  see,  Mr.  Harrison  — " 

"Need  n't  explain,  Halpin.  Miss  Miller  will  tell  me 
all  about  it.  Good-night." 

Young  Harrison  paid  off  the  taxi  and  led  Jennie 
up  the  steps.  Glancing  back,  she  saw  the  heavy- 
footed  Casey  moving  on  in  his  manner  of  a  mere 
passer-by. 

When  they  had  gained  the  hallway  two  flights  up, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  119 

"Thank  you  ever  so  much  —  good-night,"  Jennie  said 
quickly,  and  started  for  her  door.  But  Harrison  caught 
her  by  the  hand. 

"What's  the  hurry?"  he  asked  in  his  pleasant  voice. 
"Stay  a  minute,  let's  get  acquainted.  Besides,  you 
know  you  are  to  tell  me  all  about  how  you  nearly  got 
arrested  for  trying  to  rob  us.  And  like  a  good  child, 
take  off  that  veil ;  this  is  n't  a  masked  ball." 

She  removed  the  veil,  also  the  hat,  and  standing 
directly  beneath  a  wall  light  she  gave  him  a  carefully 
edited  account  of  her  adventure.  He  looked  at  her 
steadily  all  the  while,  and  when  she  had  ended  he 
demanded  in  a  lowered  voice: 

"Shall  I  tell  you,  Miss  Miller,  just  what  I  think 
about  all  that?" 

She  gave  an  inward  start.    "What?" 

"I  think,"  he  said  gravely,  "that  you  have  the  hand- 
somest pair  of  eyes  I  have  looked  into  for  a  year." 

"Oh!" 

"And  I  have  a  guess  that,  by  the  time  you  have 
decided  you  are  a  woman,  you  are  going  to  be  all  kinds 
of  a  beauty  —  and  that  you  are  going  to  make  all  kinds 
of  trouble  for  us  poor  men." 

"  I  must  be  going  to  bed,"  Jennie  breathed  hurriedly. 
"Good-night." 

"Wait,  please"  —  and  he  caught  her  hand  again. 
"Now  I  wonder  if  you  really  are  such  a  quiet  little 
mouse  as  you  seem  to  the  naked  eye?" 

"Why?" 

He  smiled  challengingly,  pleadingly.  "You  said 
something  which  might  be  construed  to  mean  that  I  was 
a  knight  who  had  just  rescued  a  lady  in  distress. 
Don't  you  think  you  could  give  the  knight  some  reward 


120  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

—  one,  of  course,  that  is  far  beyond  his  poor  merits  — 
say  a  little  kiss?" 

Suddenly  her  awe  of  him  fell  away  —  but  not  her 
liking. 

"I  could  n't  answer  that,"  she  said  eyeing  him  inno- 
cently, "until  after  I  had  asked  permission." 

"Whose  permission?" 

"Gloria  Raymond's." 

"Ouch!"  He  winced,  then  flashed  a  smile  at  her. 
"You're  no  little  mouse!  There's  a  little  devil  in  you 

—  and  I  hope  it's  a  nice  little  devil!   And  what  I  just 
spoke  of  as  a  guess  —  you  know,  that  later  on  you 
might  make  trouble  for  us  men  —  that 's  no  guess,  it 's 
a  certainty !  As  for  me,  when  you  get  a  little  older,  I  'm 
going  to  be  very  careful  —  very,  very  careful,  Miss 
Miller." 

In  mock  fear,  and  with  an  amused  half-serious,  half- 
careless  admiration,  he  bowed  over  the  hand  he  still 
held  and  kissed  it.  "All  I  can  ask  is,  don't  be  too  hard 
on  me,  little  devil.  Good-night." 

"Good-night,"  she  answered  —  and  this  time  he  let 
her  go. 


CHAPTER  XI 

JENNIE  CONSIDERS  A  PROBLEM 

TEN  days  later  when  the  Easter  vacation  was 
over  and  the  two  girls  were  returning,  Mrs. 
Harrison  said  privately  to  Sue:  "What  a  simple, 
naive,  frank,  unaffected  girl  your  new  friend  is,  my 
dear —  so  refreshing,  so  unspoiled,  so  unsophisticated!" 
And  to  Jennie,  kissing  her  warmly:  "I  do  hope  you'll 
come  home  with  Sue  again  —  come  soon  and  often!" 

Jennie  went  back  to  school  exulting.  She  was  indeed 
succeeding  —  and  this  was  only  the  beginning  of 
things.  That  reaffirmation  of  purpose  between  herself 
and  her  father,  as  she  thought  over  the  scene  during  the 
days  and  weeks  which  followed,  stiffened  her  determi- 
nation to  make  good ;  and  to  make  good  by  adhering 
to  her  programme  of  growing  so  imperceptibly  as  to 
cause  no  remark  and  awaken  no  jealousies.  More 
clearly  than  before  did  she  see  that  her  first  victory 
must  be  to  win  here  at  Braithewood. 

She  now  settled  more  easily  into  the  routine  of 
school  life,  and  the  months,  which  perform  such  great 
and  swift  magic  in  a  girl  between  sixteen  and  twenty, 
passed  without  notable  events.  All  proceeded  accord- 
ing to  the  careful  plan  Jennie  had  made  for  herself. 
Her  summer  vacations  she  spent,  as  Uncle  George  had 
suggested,  in  very,  very  select  girls'  camps.  There  were 
occasional  visits  to  Sue's  home  over  week-ends  and 
during  short  vacations  —  though  Jennie,  calculating 
shrewdly,  took  pains  not  to  go  too  often.  During  none 
of  these  visits  did  she  again  meet  Kenneth.  It  appeared 


122  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

that  he  was  a  very  popular  young  man,  with  countless 
friends  and  more  invitations  to  house-parties  than  he 
could  accept  even  were  he  to  do  nothing  else  than  play 
the  constant  guest;  and  it  also  appeared  that  this 
absence  from  business  he  more  than  compensated  for  by 
extreme  concentration  when  he  did  appear  at  the  office. 

Toward  the  end  of  Jennie's  second  year  at  Braithe- 
wood,  Gloria  Raymond  prepared  for  her  final  leave- 
taking.  During  Commencement  Week,  Gloria,  with  a 
superior  and  very  mature  manner  which  she  seemed 
to  acquire  from  the  fact,  sprung  a  very  great  surprise : 
she  was  going  forth  an  engaged  young  lady  —  and  to 
heighten  the  superiority  thus  given  her  she  had  her 
fiance  in  attendance  on  Commencement  Day.  He 
was  not  Kenneth  Harrison.  Kenneth  had  been  dis- 
carded for  the  present  title-holder,  who  possessed  a 
little  more  of  those  things  which  the  social  world 
respects  than  Kenneth  had.  But  above  his  reputed 
wealth  and  position,  and  his  undeniably  perfect  cloth- 
ing, there  was  obviously  nothing  remarkable  about 
Gloria's  thoroughly  paraded  inamorato. 

Since  the  distant  encounter  in  the  squash  court, 
when  the  two  girls  had  reverted  to  primitives,  Gloria 
had  been  discreetly  careful  in  her  attitude  toward 
Jennie.  But  on  this  her  last  day,  her  soul  raised  aloft 
by  the  double  dignity  of  graduation  and  the  presence 
of  her  fiance,  she  turned  to  Jennie,  after  saying  good- 
bye to  the  other  girls  of  the  group  in  which  Jennie 
chanced  to  be. 

"Well,  Miller,"  she  drawled,  haughty  insult  behind 
her  fine  manner,  "you  at  least  I'll  never  see  again,  so 
I  guess  this  is  a  permanent  good-bye.  However,  I'll 
try  to  bear  up." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  123 

Jennie  seemed  to  be  unconscious  of  the  insult. 
"Good-bye,"  she  said  simply.  "To  me  it  will  always 
be  a  source  of  pleasure  to  have  known  you." 

The  quiet  of  Jennie's  answer  was  not  what  Gloria  had 
expected ;  it  threw  her  off  her  guard.  "  Why  ?  "  she  asked. 

"Because,  Gloria  dear,"  Jennie  replied,  "knowing 
you  has  made  it  possible,  every  morning  when  I  wake 
up,  to  start  off  the  day  happily  by  just  remembering 
how  much  worse  everything  might  be  if  I  ever  had  to  see 
you  again." 

Gloria  flamed ;  for  an  instant  it  looked  as  if  these  two 
might  revert  a  second  time.  Then  Gloria  turned  about 
and  took  the  arm  of  her  fiance,  with  "  Aunt  is  waiting 
for  us,  Leonard."  And  fifteen  minutes  later  Gloria,  in 
a  car  with  her  young  man  and  with  her  aunt,  a  lean  and 
tottering  lady  with  an  amazingly  girlish  complexion, 
rode  forth  from  the  grounds  of  Braithewood  and  out 
into  the  great  world  which  was  to  be  hers. 

Little  by  little,  very  carefully,  Jennie  let  herself  out 
—  particularly  after  Gloria's  leaving  —  though  she  never 
went  so  far  as  to  try  to  be  a  leader.  Gloria  had  always 
assumed  herself  to  be  the  first,  and  Gloria  had  been 
hated.  Gloria  could  afford  to  be  hated,  for  she  had 
assured  position.  But  Jennie  needed  friends;  she  could 
not  afford  to  excite  jealousy  and  hostility;  so  she  tried 
to  be  no  more  than  one  of  the  first.  And  so  shrewdly 
had  she  planned,  so  cautiously  had  she  executed,  so 
vigilantly  had  she  watched  for  and  assimilated  details, 
that  when  she  began  her  fourth  year  the  crude  girl 
who  had  entered  Braithewood  was  hardly  remembered. 
She  was  liked  and  admired  by  both  the  girls  and  the 
teachers.  She  had  learned  to  dress  correctly  from  the 
precise  and  unimaginative  Miss  Van  der  Brunt,  and 


1 24  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

to  correctness  her  own  taste  had  added  originality. 
The  singing  master  was  enthusiastic  over  her  voice. 
The  little  dancing  master  declared,  in  his  excitable 
manner,  that  as  a  dancer  she  might  become  an  artist 
if  she  cared  to.  And  Miss  Gresham  liked  to  have  her 
pour  tea  at  her  weekly  teas  for  the  girls  —  and  more 
than  once  she  said  approvingly,  "You  did  it  excellently, 
my  dear;  you  have  good  humor,  you  know  how  to  make 
people  talk,  you  have  poise  —  and  those  are  what  a 
lady  most  needs." 

And  so,  after  slow  years,  Jennie  had  consummated 
her  careful  plans.  She  had  won! 

Yes,  she  had  won.  But  toward  the  latter  part  of  her 
fourth  year,  when  she  was  soon  to  be  twenty,  it  came 
upon  her  with  growing  conviction  that  what  she  had 
won  was  really  only  the  veriest  beginning  —  that  before 
her  was  her  greatest  problem.  In  a  few  months  her  life 
at  Braithewood  would  be  ended.  She  had  no  home  to 
go  back  to  as  had  the  other  girls.  No  pleasant  course  of 
life  was  all  prepared  waiting  for  her  to  slip  into.  What 
was  she  going  to  do? 

She  saw  possible  answers.  But  this  great  problem  so 
profoundly  affecting  her  nearing  future  was  not  one 
she  could,  or  had  the  right  to,  solve  by  herself.  Others 
were  deeply  concerned  —  chiefly  her  father.  She  had 
not  tried  to  see  him  again  all  these  years;  she  had 
adhered  faithfully  to  the  promise  Black  Jerry  had 
extracted  from  her  that  night  when  her  surreptitious 
visit  to  him  had  so  nearly  ended  in  disaster.  As  for 
Uncle  George,  that  worldly-wise  gentleman  had  de- 
veloped a  consistent  plan  out  of  the  possibility  he  had 
mentioned  to  Miss  Gresham  the  evening  he  had  brought 
Jennie  to  Braithewood  —  that  the  necessity  of  travel- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  125 

ing  imposed  upon  him  by  his  affairs  might  prevent  him 
from  coming  frequently  to  visit  his  ward.  He  had  never 
come  a  second  time ;  it  seemed  safer  so ;  hardly  any  one 
had  seen  him  on  his  first  visit  except  a  maid  or  two 
and  Miss  Gresham  —  and  he  thought  it  wiser  for  his 
personality  to  be  no  more  than  a  dim  and  fading  mem- 
ory. He  had  written  Miss  Gresham  occasionally,  but 
all  financial  and  business  affairs  had  been  transacted 
through  the  firm  of  reputable  attorneys. 

But  Jennie  had  his  address,  and  she  now  wrote  him 
an  unsigned  letter  which  she  did  not  trust  to  the  open 
letter-basket  of  the  school.  She  stole  into  the  village 
and  slipped  the  letter  into  the  safety  of  the  drop  of  the 
post-office.  Two  days  later  Miss  Gresham  sent  for  her. 

"Jennie,  I  have  just  had  word  from  your  guardian. 
He  is  in  New  York  for  only  half  a  day.  He  is  going  to 
motor  out  to  see  you.  He  wishes  to  take  you  out  with 
him  for  a  little  ride,  and  since  his  time  is  so  extremely 
limited  he  asks  that  you  be  ready  to  join  him  in  the  car 
the  moment  he  drives  up.  He  expects  to  arrive  at 
about  four." 

"Very  well,  Miss  Gresham,"  Jennie  replied. 

At  ten  minutes  to  four,  warmly  dressed  against  the 
shrewd  April  wind,  Jennie  was  waiting  on  the  piazza. 
At  exactly  four  a  large  car  swung  into  the  drive  and 
slowed  down  at  the  steps,  in  the  tonneau  a  single  figure, 
goggled  and  face  muffled  in  upturned  collar.  Jennie 
sprang  in  and  the  car  moved  away. 

"How  are  we  going  to  meet  dad,  Uncle  George?"  she 
whispered  to  the  figure  beside  her. 

"There  he  is,"  Uncle  George  whispered  back,  and 
nodded  at  the  goggled  and  deeply-collared  man  at  the 
wheel.  "But  we'll  not  talk  about  things  just  yet." 


126  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Uncle  George  had  evidently  planned  all  details  in 
advance,  for  twenty  minutes  later  on  an  obscure 
side  road,  Black  Jerry  let  down  the  bars  opening  into 
a  wooded  plot,  then  drove  along  a  rutty  road  down  into 
a  rough  hollow  screened  on  its  rim  by  a  thicket  of  leafless 
hazel  and  bramble.  But  even  in  this  seemingly  safe 
isolation  the  two  men  did  not  venture  upon  a  too  open 
familiarity.  They  pushed  their  goggles  up  on  their  fore- 
heads and  Jerry  clambered  into  the  tonneau  where  he 
sat  on  one  of  the  little  folding  seats,  hunger  and  admira- 
tion and  awe  in  his  dark,  grim  face,  but  he  did  not  offer 
a  single  caress  to  this  far-removed  young  lady  who  was 
his  child.  And  now  for  the  second  time  Jennie  sat  in 
consultation  with  the  two  men  who  had  tried  to  shape 
her  life  according  to  their  ideas  of  giving  her  as  good  a 
chance  as  any  other  man's  child. 

"Well,  now,  Jennie,  what's  the  trouble?"  began 
Uncle  George. 

She  told  them,  ending  with:  "You  see,  when  this 
school  year  is  over,  I'm  at  the  end  of  things.  Other 
girls  have  homes  and  families  to  go  back  to.  There's 
no  home  for  me  to  go  to,  unless  it  is  back  to  the 
Pekin." 

"I  see,"  said  Uncle  George.  "It  sure  does  look, 
Jerry,  as  though  the  first  part  of  our  plan  for  Jennie 
was  just  about  played  through  to  its  finish." 

Black  Jerry  nodded. 

"I've  thought  of  a  lot  of  things,"  Jennie  went  on. 
"But  you,  dad,  you've  already  spent  so  much  money 
on  me  —  and  putting  me  at  Braithewood  was  all  your 
plan  and  Uncle  George's  —  and  I  know  it's  all  meant  so 
much  to  you  —  so  I  felt  you  both  had  a  right  to  help 
decide  what  I  ought  to  do  next." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  127 

"Sure,  Jennie.  For  example,  what  had  you  thought 
of?"  queried  the  old  man. 

"I  might  take  a  post-graduate  course  at  Braithewood. 
That  would  settle  the  problem  of  my  having  some  place 
to  go." 

"But  we'd  probably  have  to  face  exactly  the  same 
problem  in  a  year  or  two  years,"  commented  Uncle 
George.  ''And  in  the  meantime  perhaps  most  of  your 
best  friends  would  have  faded  from  the  picture.  How 
about  it,  Jerry?" 

"Let's  settle  it  now,"  replied  Black  Jerry. 

"Well,"  continued  Jennie,  "another  idea  was  that 
I  might  stay  on  for  another  year  and  take  the  business 
course,  and  then  earn  my  living." 

"I  know  what  your  business  course  is  like — I've 
seen  your  catalogue,"  spoke  up  Uncle  George.  "They 
teach  a  young  lady  how  to  fill  out  a  check  and  how  to 
cut  the  coupons  on  the  bonds  her  old  man 's  given  her 
for  a  Christmas  present.  That 's  the  size  of  it  —  except 
that  in  a  footnote  they  do  offer  a  course  in  stenography 
and  typewriting.  That 's  the  only  thing  in  all  their  busi- 
ness bunk  that  '11  really  bring  in  money  —  and  I  say, 
Jerry,  after  keeping  Jennie  here  all  this  time,  do  you 
want  her  to  start  in  in  an  office  pulling  down  eight  dol- 
lars a  week?  —  which '11  be  all  she'll  be  worth." 

"Nothing  doing,"  Jerry  replied  briefly.  "It'll  be  a 
bum  return  on  what  I've  spent,  and  Jennie '11  lose  all 
she '  s  gained .  What '  s  next  ?  " 

"Well,  my  singing  teacher  thinks  a  lot  of  my  voice. 
I  've  thought  I  might  go  on  the  stage  —  in  some  kind  of  a 
musical  play,  I  mean." 

"I'll  answer  that,"  Uncle  George  spoke  up  promptly 
and  emphatically.  "That's  the  bummest  idea  yet!  Un- 


128  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

less  you  're  a  whale  of  a  musical  star  —  you  may  be 
good,  Jennie,  but  I  don't  think  you  '11  ever  be  that  — 
the  Broadway  musical  life  is  the  rottenest  life  ever  in- 
vented. Especially  for  a  woman.  There 's  no  music  in  it 
and  there 's  no  life  in  it !  You  Ve  got  to  be  ready  to  play 
any  kind  of  a  game  to  get  the  good  jobs  —  anyhow, 
most  of  the  women  do  —  and  you  're  lucky  if  you  Ve 
got  a  job  half  the  time.  And  about  the  time  you  begin 
to  think  you  're  getting  good,  you  're  really  all  through 
and  nobody  wants  you.  And  before  that  time  you've 
probably  married  some  musical  comedy  actor  —  oh, 
but  the  men  there  are  a  bum  bunch !  —  who 's  signed  a 
life  contract  to  appear  exclusively  in  high-ball  attrac- 
tions, and  who  ain't  missing  a  performance.  And  there 
you  are !  I  'm  not  even  going  to  pass  this  on  to  Jerry ; 
I'm  going  to  settle  it  myself.  That  idea  is  canned! 
Now,  what  else  have  you  thought  of?" 

"Nothing  else.  Nothing,  that  is,  that  would  earn  my 
living." 

"Who  said  anything  about  your  eafning  your  liv- 
ing!" It  was  Jerry's  gruff  voice  that  spoke.  "I  ain't 
worrying  about  that  —  anyhow,  not  now.  What  else 
could  you  do  that  would  keep  you  up  where  you 
are?" 

"Well,  my  room-mate's  mother,  Mrs.  Harrison,  has 
asked  me  to  spend  the  summer  with  them." 

"That  begins  to  listen  like  something,  Jerry,"  com- 
mented Uncle  George.  "Where  is  their  place,  Jennie?" 

"Somewhere  out  on  Long  Island." 

"That  looks  like  a  good  lead  to  me,  Jerry.  What  do 
you  say?" 

" It'll  keep  her  up  at  the  top,"  agreed  Jerry.  "And  if 
by  the  end  of  the  summer  nothing  has  turned  up,  we  can 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 29 

then  talk  about  her  going  back  to  school  or  doing  some- 
thing else.  I  say  it's  O.K." 

And  thus,  out  there  in  that  bleak  solitude,  the  farther 
stage  of  what  was  to  be  Jennie's  chance,  was  decided  on. 
But  before  Black  Jerry  resumed  his  goggles  and  his  r61e 
of  chauffeur,  he  gripped  Jennie's  hand. 

"You're  somebody  now"  —  his  eyes  glittered  with 
pride  —  "  and,  whatever  happens,  you're  going  to  stay 
somebody!  Remember,  I  don't  want  you  to  run  no  risks, 
nor  do  a  thing,  that  may  spoil  your  big  chance.  I  want 
you  to  promise  me,  Jennie!" 

All  he  said  fitted  in  with  Jennie's  own  soaring  dreams; 
but  she  felt  just  a  bit  frightened  as  she  gazed  into  the 
tremendous  earnestness,  the  fierce  gloating,  of  Black 
Jerry's  face. 

"I  promise,  dad!" 

Half  an  hour  later  Jennie  stepped  down  in  front  of 
Braithewood  Hall,  and  the  big  car,  with  its  muffled 
and  goggled  figure  in  the  tonneau  and  its  big  chauffeur 
muffled  and  goggled,  rolled  away  around  the  perfect 
curve  of  the  drive. 

At  last  Jennie's  four  years  at  Braithewood  reached 
their  end  and  climax:  Commencement  Day  arrived,  and 
Jennie  was  to  deliver  the  valedictory  for  her  class.  The 
exercises  were  held  in  the  Braithewood  open-air  theater, 
with  the  cars  of  parents  and  guests  parked  on  the  lawn 
about  it.  Miss  Gresham  told  Jennie  that  her  guardian 
had  telephoned  that  he  would  come  out  by  train  and 
go  back  in  his  motor  which  would  meet  him  at  the  school. 
Uncle  George  did  not  arrive,  but  his  motor  did.  There 
was  excitement  enough  for  Jennie  in  the  kindly  attentions 
of  Mrs.  Harrison,  who  was  going  to  take  the  two  girls 


1 3O  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

back  with  her;  and  in  the  attentions  of  the  great  man 
who  was  to  deliver  the  formal  address ;  and  in  the  thought 
of  having  to  speak  before  all  these  visitors :  but  when  at 
length  her  time  came,  and  she  stood  alone  on  the  little 
stage,  straight  and  slender  in  her  white,  speaking  her 
few  words,  all  she  then  could  see  or  think  of  was  the 
chauffeur  in  Uncle  George's  otherwise  empty  car  —  a 
barrel-chested  man,  slipped  low  down  behind  his  wheel, 
his  goggled  eyes  never  once  shifting  from  her. 


CHAPTER  XII 

REENTER  AN  OLD  FRIEND 

THOUGH  the  Harrisons'  country  place  on  the 
north  shore  of  Long  Island  had  been  opened, 
and  the  family  was  supposed  to  be  settled  there 
for  the  summer,  it  was  to  the  town  house  that  Mrs. 
Harrison  bore  Sue  and  Jennie.  This  also  was  open,  with 
half  a  corps  of  servants,  for  the  business  convenience  of 
Mr.  Harrison  and  Kenneth.  Not  until  warmer  days 
would  the  two  men  begin  their  summer  schedule  of  daily 
voyaging  to  and  fro  in  the  Harrison  motor  yacht,  the 
Myra,  which  could  split  the  waters  of  the  Sound  at 
thirty-five  miles  an  hour  or  better. 

Following  Jennie's  very  short  valedictory  there  came 
the  real  Commencement  address,  which  was  delivered 
by  a  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  who,  as  a  speaker, 
could  out- wind  any  man  in  public  life  —  and  after  that 
there  was  Miss  Gresham's  farewell  tea  to  the  graduates 
—  so  that  it  was  half-past  six  when  the  Harrison  car 
reached  the  house  in  the  East  Seventies.  Jennie  had 
just  begun  to  settle  herself  in  the  room  which  she  had 
occupied  on  her  first  visit  to  the  Harrisons,  when  Sue 
burst  in  upon  her  rather  breathlessly. 

"Jennie  —  what  do  you  think!  Father  has  a  bad 
headache,  nothing  serious,  and  mother  wants  to  stay 
home  with  him.  There  was  a  note  for  me  from  Kenneth; 
he  invites  us  out  to  dinner  —  then  to  the  theater  — 
then  to  supper.  And  mother  says  we  may  go.  Would  you 
like  to?" 

"Of  course,"  said  Jennie. 


132  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"And  there's  to  be  some  one  else  —  Billy  Grayson." 

"Billy  Grayson?"  Jennie  pretended  to  be  struggling 
with  a  baffled  memory.  "  Billy  Grayson?  Sue  —  where 
have  I  heard  that  name  before?" 

"Don't  waste  time  trying  to  tease  me,"  Sue  replied, 
flushing.  " Hurry  up,  dear.  We're  to  be  ready  at  seven." 

Jennie  set  about  dressing  with  not  a  little  excitement ; 
thinking  of  Sue's  handsome  brother,  with  his  amused 
smile,  whom  she  had  hardly  seen  since  that  Easter  visit 
of  years  ago  when  he  had  rescued  her  from  the  night 
watchman  and  the  impending  Casey,  and  when  he  had 
tried,  not  very  impetuously,  to  collect  tribute  in  the 
coinage  of  a  kiss.  She  dressed  with  care,  and  she  now 
had  the  things  to  dress  with :  a  girlish  evening  gown  of 
pea-green  charmeuse  touched  with  silver  —  bought  at 
Madame  Helenas  with  the  hesitating  approval  of  Miss 
Van  der  Brunt;  and  there  were  green  stockings  to 
match  and  silver  slippers,  and  a  richly  broidered  manda- 
rin coat  of  blue  and  green  and  silver  with  old-rose  lining. 
Finished,  the  coat  flaring  open,  she  stood  gazing  for  a 
minute  or  more  into  the  long  mirror  —  at  her  dark  eyes, 
her  thick,  night-colored  hair  filleted  with  a  silver  band, 
her  dark  cheeks  with  the  faint  rose  of  excitement  in 
them.  She  liked  what  she  saw;  she  liked  it  very  much 
indeed. 

Her  clock  showed  ten  minutes  past  seven ;  she  had  not 
yet  acquired  woman's  prerogative  of  being  equably  late, 
so  in  a  bit  of  a  flutter  she  hurried  out.  As  she  slipped 
down  the  stairway  she  heard  voices  in  the  drawing- 
room —  Sue's  and  another's,  and  the  teasing  voice  of 
Sue's  brother.  They  were  speaking  of  her,  and  in- 
stinctively she  paused  near  the  foot  of  the  stairway. 

"Is  n't  that  partner  of  yours  ever  going  to  show  up? 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  133 

—  or  did  n't  you  tell  her  I  'd  humbly  asked  her  to 
honor  us?"  It  was  the  voice  of  Kenneth  that  she 
heard. 

"Don't  worry  —  she'll  be  right  down,  Kenneth," 
said  Sue. 

"I  hope  so,"  the  half-grumbling,  half-humorous,  and 
wholly  pleasant  voice  went  on.  "I  want  to  see  what 
she 's  grown  up  to  be.  She  was  a  funny  little  fellow  when 
I  saw  her  before  —  shy,  owning  about  a  half-dozen 
words,  with  eyes  that  saw  everything,  never  certain  just 
what  to  do  with  herself.  Does  she  still  wear  a  gun  on 
each  hip,  Sue?" 

"Wait  till  she  comes  down  and  see  for  yourself." 

"  I  can't  wait  —  I  'm  going  to  reconnoiter." 

Before  Jennie  could  move  he  had  stepped  out  into  the 
hall  —  an  even  more  handsome  figure  than  he  had 
seemed  to  the  eyes  of  sixteen.  He  halted,  and  looked 
straight  up  into  her  eyes,  and  she  looked  straight  down 
into  his. 

"Hello,  and  who  might  you  be?"  he  demanded, 
surprise  in  his  gaze,  yet  at  his  ease. 

"I  was  just  going  to  ask  that  question  of  you." 

"I?  Oh,  I  'm  just  one  of  the  boarders  Mrs.  Harrison 
keeps.  Now,  you  —  perhaps  you  're  the  person  they  call 
Jennie  Miller?" 

"Perhaps." 

"And  perhaps  you  heard  everything  I  was  just  saying 
about  you  —  or  her?" 

"Perhaps  —  just  possibly."  She  felt  excitement,  but 
no  embarrassment.  Nothing  else  so  definitely  marked 
what  time  and  change  had  done :  at  sixteen  she  had  first 
stood  in  Kenneth  Harrison's  presence  awkward  and 
abashed,  and  feeling  that  he  was  of  an  older  generation; 


134  ^  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

at  twenty  she  felt  herself  of  his  own  age,  and  was  able 
to  exchange  banter  with  him  on  even  terms.  "But  if  I 
did  overhear,  it 's  not  wholly  my  fault  that  sound  travels 
and  I  have  ears." 

Suddenly  he  smiled  engagingly  and  held  out  his  hand. 
"I'm  glad  to  see  you  again,  Miss  Miller!" 

She  came  down  the  three  steps  and  took  his  hand. 
'"Thank  you." 

"May  I  tell  you  something?"  he  asked. 

"Please  do." 

His  smile  became  very  direct  and  personal,  but  its 
apparent  frankness  negatived  any  offense  that  might 
otherwise  have  been  in  it.  "You  may  not  carry  guns, 
Miss  Miller  —  but  you  are  a  very  unsafe  young  woman 
to  be  allowed  abroad." 

"Why?" 

"You  remember  what  I  said  years  ago  —  after  mid- 
night, in  the  hallway  above:  that  you  might  grow  up  to 
be  a  very  dangerous  person  to  my  poor  sex?" 

"I  don't  seem  to  remember  a  thing  about  it." 

"Well,  you've  done  it!  Perhaps  not  intentionally  or 
maliciously  —  but  you  certainly  have  done  it!" 

There  was  real  admiration  in  voice  and  eye.  Jennie 
thrilled  with  pleasure,  but  before  she  could  reply  Sue 
came  out  of  the  drawing-room,  and  Jennie  found  her- 
self taking  the  hand  of  a  nice-looking,  blue-eyed  young 
man  and  saying,  "I'm  very  glad  to  meet  you,  Mr. 
Gray  son." 

Twenty  minutes  later  the  four  of  them  were  sitting 
down  to  dinner  in  Delmonico's.  It  soon  became  essen- 
tially, not  a  party  of  four,  but  a  party  of  two  twos. 
Sue  had  mentioned  Billy  Grayson  to  her  now  and  then, 
in  an  attempted  offhand  manner,  but  if  Jennie  had  not 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 35 

before  suspected  what  young  Grayson  meant  in  Sue's 
life,  she  learned  it  well  enough  now  from  the  shy  but 
obvious  way  in  which  the  interest  of  each  was  centered 
in  the  other.  Kenneth,  even  had  he  wished  to  do  other- 
wise, could  hardly  have  done  else  than  give  his  attention 
chiefly  to  Jennie  —  and  Jennie  sensed  that  he  did  not 
wish  otherwise;  she  sensed  that  the  admiration  which 
had  come  into  his  eyes  the  moment  he  had  stepped  out 
and  seen  her  on  the  stairway,  was  increasing  with  every 
minute. 

Jennie  had  no  consciousness  of  caring  particularly  for 
Kenneth  —  he  was  for  her,  at  that  hour,  just  a  hand- 
some, fascinating  young  man.  But  his  admiration  was 
more  exhilarating  than  the  champagne;  it  gave  her 
strength,  it  lifted  her.  And  she  looked  better  than  be- 
fore, and  spoke  better,  and  gave  a  freer  play  to  all  her 
faculties  —  and  his  open  admiration  kept  on  growing 
as  she  unfolded. 

During  the  dinner  she  dimly  remembered  something 
Sue  had  told  her  about  Gloria  Raymond :  how  Gloria, 
once  half-engaged  to  her  brother,  and  actually  engaged 
to  another  young  man  when  she  had  graduated,  had 
broken  the  real  engagement  after  the  cards  were  out, 
and  was  once  more  in  the  midst  of  an  active  and  de- 
termined affair  with  Kenneth.  But  what  might  be  be- 
tween Kenneth  Harrison  and  Gloria  Raymond  at  this 
moment  concerned  Jennie  in  no  slightest  degree;  the 
present  was  sufficient  unto  itself. 

It  was  a  wonderful  dinner  —  a  thrilling  dinner.  But 
at  length  it  was  over,  and  just  as  the  curtain  rose  on 
the  second  act  they  took  their  seats  in  a  theater.  The 
setting  of  the  act  was  a  ballroom  in  some  millionaire's 
house.  There  was  not  much  of  a  story,  but  there  were 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


lots  of  girls  —  "With  Lots  of  Girls,"  that  phrase  was 
run  beneath  the  play's  title  on  the  posters  —  in  very 
large  hats  and  in  dresses  which  certainly  had  never 
been  selected  by  Miss  Van  der  Brunt.  And  after  the 
girls  had  sung  something  with  an  ogling  air  of  naughty 
innocence,  and  had  danced  and  maneuvered,  they 
marched  off  as  a  tramp  comedian  came  on  with  his  trick 
dog;  and  after  the  tramp  comedian  had  finished  the 
stunts  which  he  -had  been  repeating  without  variation 
for  five  years  in  vaudeville  houses,  a  young  woman 
entered  in  an  evening  gown  of  a  cut  which  knew  no  fear 
(exit  tramp  and  dog)  followed  by  the  previous  young 
women  now  gowned  as  guests  at  the  ball,  and  followed 
also  by  chorus  men  also  in  supposititious  fashionable 
evening  wear.  The  young  woman,  evidently  the  hostess 
of  the  stage  party,  advanced  to  the  footlights,  conscious 
of  her  every  charm,  with  the  air  of  being  a  personage 
that  every  one  knew  and  wished  to  see,  and  sang  a 
supposedly  humorous  topical  ditty,  dealing  with  the 
varieties  of  stumbling  men  a  woman  has  to  dance  with, 
each  verse  mournfully  ending  with  "And  that's  the 
sort  of  partner  a  hostess  always  gets."  After  she  had 
responded  to  her  last  encore,  there  was  dancing  of  the 
ballroom  type  by  the  guests  —  then  there  was  an  in- 
stant's pause  in  the  action  of  the  play  while  the  guests 
retired  up-stage  —  then  through  a  gilded  doorway 
sauntered  a  slender  young  man. 

Instantly  the  whole  theater  was  applauding.  The 
young  man  had  to  bow  his  appreciation,  which  he  did 
with  extraordinary  grace,  holding  his  silk  hat  with  none 
of  the  half-afraidness  with  which  men  in  real  life  man- 
age that  insignia  of  formality.  He  had  to  bow  again  — 
and  now  something  distantly  familiar  about  him  drifted 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  137 

into  Jennie's  mind.  She  tried  to  place  him  —  she  could 
not  —  but  the  sense  of  familiarity  persisted.  He  had  a 
few  words  of  comedy  dialogue  with  the  hostess,  then 
laying  his  hat  on  a  chair,  he  slipped  an  arm  about  the 
lady  and  the  two  went  circling  around  in  a  ballroom 
dance. 

And  then,  suddenly,  Jennie  knew  him.  It  all  came 
upon  her  with  a  rush  —  those  long-gone  years  —  the 
Pekin  —  their  petty  rogueries.  She  almost  gasped  aloud. 

"Who  —  who  is  he?"  she  at  length  asked  Kenneth. 

"What  —  you  don't  know  who  he  is!"  Kenneth 
exclaimed. 

"Miss  Gresham  did  n't  let  us  come  in  to  see  plays 
very  often,"  she  explained,  "and  I've  read  almost 
nothing  about  the  theater  the  last  four  years." 

"That,"  said  Kenneth  with  emphasis,  "is  Jackson 
Holt." 

"  Is  he  —  is  he  very  good?" 

"Good?  He's  the  best  there  is  in  his  line.  He's  a 
marvel!  He's  the  real  star  of  this  show!"  And  then 
Kenneth  added:  "  He's  not  only  good  on  the  stage, 
he's  a  gentleman  off  of  it —  I  happen  to  know  him  a 
little.  And  the  women  who  like  to  dance  are  crazy 
about  him;  he  goes  just  about  where  he  likes  in 
society." 

Jennie  drew  a  slow,  deep  breath.  So  that  was  Slim 
Jackson !  And  so  Slim  had  made  good  his  boast  about 
getting  to  the  top !  She  watched  him  closely.  There  was 
nothing  vulgar  or  suggestive  or  exaggerated  in  his 
work;  it  was  graceful,  finished,  refined;  it  was  ballroom 
dancing  at  its  truly  highest.  His  partner  was  good — 
but  he  belonged  to  a  different  order  of  dancers.  The 
gods  had  put  gifts  in  his  feet.  Indeed  he  was  a  marvel  I 


138  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

But  how  had  he  done  it  all?  How  had  he  got  up 
here?  Jennie  sat  wondering  through  the  succeeding 
scenes  of  the  play.  .  .  .  Once  she  had  a  start  of  a  differ- 
ent sort.  Glancing  back,  she  saw  a  man  leaning  against 
the  orchestra  rail  who  seemed  to  be  staring  fixedly  at 
her.  She  thought  it  was  Harry  Edwards,  and  she  turned 
quickly  again  to  the  stage.  But  a  few  minutes  later 
curiosity  impelled  her  to  look  backwards;  a  more  com- 
posed glance  showed  her  that  the  man  standing  where 
she  thought  Harry  stood  was  not  Harry  Edwards. 
She  had  been  deceived  by  a  mere  fancied  resemblance, 
had  been  played  upon  by  this  resurgence  of  old  mem- 
ories. .  .  .  For  the  rest  of  the  performance  she  continued 
to  wonder  about  the  rise  of  Slim  Jackson. 

She  was  relieved  to  get  away  from  the  theater.  With 
Slim  out  of  her  sight,  and  in  the  company  of  the  little 
party  which  was  now  in  gay  mood,  she  tried  to  throw 
off  the  disturbing  memories,  the  sense  of  nearness  to  her 
old  life.  By  the  time  they  were  all  in  Kenneth's  car,  the 
feeling  of  security,  of  confidence,  which  she  had  slowly 
won  during  the  past  four  years  had  returned;  it  reas- 
sured her,  convincingly,  that  time  had  wiped  out  all 
remembrance  of  her,  that  she  had  gone  too  far,  had 
risen  too  high,  ever  to  be  connected  with  the  Jennie 
M alone  who  once  had  been. 

Spring  had  ended  with  summer-like  days  that  year, 
and  the  roof-gardens  were  already  open.  Ten  minutes 
after  they  had  left  the  theater  the  four  stepped  out  upon 
the  Astor  roof.  A  captain  instantly  sighted  Kenneth 
and  was  beside  them.  "Your  table  is  this  way,  please, 
Mr.  Harrison,"  he  said,  and  led  them  across  the  roof 
to  a  table  beneath  an  arbor  of  vari-colored  lights.  The 
quickness  with  which  her  escort  was  recognized,  the 


A  Daughter  of  Tivo  Worlds  1 39 

deference  paid  him,  elated  Jennie;  and  she  was  further 
gratified  when  she  saw  that  the  table  was  already  set, 
and  when  waiters  began  immediately  to  serve.  She 
knew  then  that  the  table  had  been  reserved  and  the 
supper  ordered  in  advance.  This,  indeed,  was  atten- 
tion! 

Then  she  noticed  something  else  which  in  the  first 
excitement  of  this  new  experience  she  had  overlooked. 
"Why,  there  are  five  covers!"  she  exclaimed.  "There 
are  only  four  of  us  —  who's  the  fifth  place  for?" 

"A  friend  of  mine  promised  to  drop  around  if  he 
could  —  none  of  you  know  him,"  Kenneth  answered. 

He  spoke  casually.  It  was  an  element  of  his  charac- 
ter, which  Jennie  was  yet  to  discover,  that  he  liked  to 
do  carefully  planned  and  perhaps  even  big  things,  in 
an  offhand  manner  —  as  though  they  were  common- 
places to  him.  Perhaps  he  so  acted  because  it  was  a 
subtle  way  of  increasing  his  own  importance  —  because 
it  fed  his  egotism,  which  his  sister  had  declaimed 
against,  but  of  which  Jennie  had  seen  no  trace.  Per- 
haps it  was  merely  because  of  his  quizzical  bent;  per- 
haps merely  because  he  had  a  penchant  for  little  sur- 
prises. 

Jennie  had  danced  one  number  with  Kenneth,  danc- 
ing it  very  formally,  and  was  seated  again  at  the  table 
with  Sue  and  young  Grayson,  when  coming  out  upon 
the  roof  she  saw  that  which  caused  her  whole  being  to 
go  suddenly  still.  It  was  Slim  Jackson.  Captains  and 
head  waiters  hurried  toward  this  great  celebrity  of 
their  world,  eagerly,  obsequiously;  but  before  they 
reached  him  his  scanning  eyes  had  caught  sight  of 
Kenneth,  on  his  feet  with  a  signaling  hand,  and  he  was 
crossing  toward  the  table. 


14O  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

It  went  through  Jennie  like  a  shot:  so  —  that  fifth 
cover  was  for  Slim  Jackson! 

Frantic,  yet  controlling  herself,  she  turned  her  back 
as  if  to  pluck  a  sprig  from  a  tubbed  privet- tree;  but 
all  the  while  her  sidewise  glance  was  watching  Slim 
draw  nearer.  "Sorry,  if  I'm  late,  Kenneth,"  she  heard 
him  say  —  "but  you  know  you  can't  just  wish  your 
make-up  off."  And  then  she  watched  his  introduction 
to  the  others.  What  would  he  do  when  he  saw  her? 
her  frenzy  kept  asking.  He  would  start  with  amazement 
at  this  unexpected  meeting  with  her,  and  his  involun- 
tary start  would  lead  to  her  certain  exposure  — 

"Miss  Miller,"  called  Kenneth. 

It  was  inevitable.  Jennie  summoned  her  strength, 
and  turned,  holding  the  sprig  of  privet  she  had  plucked. 

"Miss  Miller,"  said  Kenneth,  "I  want  you  to  meet 
Mr.  Jackson  Holt  whom  you  saw  to-night." 

Her  face  was  pale;  the  gaze  she  raised  to  him  was 
strained  in  its  fixity.  But  he  did  not  start,  as  she  had 
thought  he  would.  The  look  he  gave  her  was  conven- 
tionally pleasant;  it  was  the  look  he  might  have  given 
any  woman  he  was  meeting  for  the  first  time. 

"I  am,  indeed,  pleased  to  meet  you,  Miss  Miller," 
he  acknowledged  in  an  even  voice,  bowing  with  his 
extraordinary  grace. 

Jennie  came  as  near  to  fainting  as  she  had  ever  done. 
He  did  not  know  her!  Her  courage,  her  self-confidence, 
flowed  back.  Well,  was  there  really  anything  so  strange 
in  that,  after  all?  Four  years  had  passed  —  she  was 
in  company  in  which  he  would  never  dream  to  find  her. 
Certainly  there  had  been  change  enough  since  the 
night  of  that  far-away  last  meeting  —  the  time  she  had 
danced  with  him  at  the  Pekin.  .  .  .  Well,  she  was  going 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  141 

to  play  it  through  just  as  though  they  had  never  met 
before. 

After  a  few  bites,  Slim  asked  Sue  to  dance,  and  Jennie 
danced  with  young  Grayson.  And  then,  after  a  few 
more  fragments  of  the  supper,  Slim  invited  her  to  take 
the  floor  with  him.  She  dared  not  refuse;  she  had  said 
that  her  part  had  to  be  to  act  just  as  though  Slim  were 
any  other  friend  of  Kenneth's;  so  she  arose  and  gave 
herself  into  his  arms.  She  danced  the  steps  correctly, 
but  formally,  just  as  she  had  done  with  Kenneth;  she 
was  on  her  guard  not  to  betray  any  trace  of  her  old  self. 
She  believed  she  was  acting  the  stranger  well.  And  as 
for  Slim,  he  was  the  stranger;  he  could  not  have  been  so 
formal,  and  yet  so  gracefully  at  ease  in  his  formality, 
had  he  been  other.  She  was  getting  on  well  —  very 
well,  indeed! 

They  had  circled  the  roof  once  and  were  a  second 
time  at  a  point  farthest  from  their  table,  when  he 
stopped.  "Miss  Miller,  you  must  let  me  show  you  the 
lights  of  New  York  from  this  roof,"  he  said;  and  her 
hand  through  his  arm  he  led  her  from  among  the  dancers 
to  a  quiet  place  against  the  parapet. 

"Some  people  tell  us  all  the  scenery  is  in  Europe  or 
out  West,"  he  said,  —  "but  New  York,  at  night,  is  n't 
it  worth  looking  at?" 

"Yes  —  it  is  wonderful." 

They  stood  silent  a  moment  gazing  over  the  stone 
coping  of  the  wall  at  the  white  day  that  streamed  up 
from  the  deep  streets.  Then,  suddenly,  Jennie  felt  a 
hand  laid  upon  her  hand  within  his  arm,  and  felt  his 
breath  close  against  her  cheek. 

"You're  doing  it  great,  Jennie!"  he  whispered. 
"But  in  the  name  of  God,  how  have  you  done  it?" 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  PAST  REACHES  FORWARD 

JENNIE  caught  the  coping  with  her  free  hand;  that 
alone  saved  her  from  falling.  For  a  moment  she 
hung  on  dazed,  unable  to  speak.  Then  she  tried 
to  answer  calmly,  but  even  to  her  own  ears  her 
voice  sounded  husky  and  tremulous. 

"I  fear  you  are  mistaken,  Mr.  Holt." 

"Ah,  Jennie,  cut  out  the  kidding,"  Slim  said  good- 
naturedly.  He  had  lapsed  from  the  very  proper  and 
cultivated  speech,  which  she  had  remarked  at  the 
table,  into  the  easy  method  of  talk  which  she  knew  of 
old.  "Don't  try  to  fool  your  old  side-kick,  Jennie. 
You  can't  —  any  more  than  you  could  fool  Black  Jerry." 

She  slowly  looked  about  at  him.  In  his  face  was 
undeniable  recognition.  There  was  no  use  trying  to 
pretend  longer. 

"But  if  you  know  me  now,  Slim,"  she  said,  "then 
why  were  n't  you  surprised  when  you  first  came  to  our 
table?" 

"That  puzzles  you?  Well,  that's  easy,"  he  laughed 
softly.  "Kenneth  Harrison  told  me  this  afternoon  he 
was  coming  to  the  show  —  and  asked  me  to  join  his 
little  party  to-night.  So  between  the  second  and  the 
third  acts  I  was  at  the  peep-hole  in  the  curtain  sizing 
up  the  bunch  I  had  signed  up  to  meet.  My  eyes  stuck 
to  you  —  you  looked  like  somebody  I  ought  to  know  — 
and  then  I  placed  you.  That's  when  I  got  my  real 
jolt  —  when  I  stood  there  alone  at  the  peep-hole.  I 
sized  up  this  much,  that  the  Harrisons  did  n't  know 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 43 

who  you  really  were.  So  when  I  came  here  to-night 
I  was  all  readied  up  to  play  the  stranger.  Easy  enough, 
was  n't  it?" 

"Yes,"  she  said. 

"But  you,  Jennie!"  he  exclaimed.  "You  sure  look 
a  winner!  —  and  you're  right  in  with  this  classy  bunch 
as  though  you  were  born  there!  The  last  I  heard  of 
you  you  had  jumped  your  bail  and  had  run  away,  and 
no  one  knew  where  you  were,  and  no  one  had  ever  heard 
from  you.  And  now  here  you  are!  In  the  name  of  God, 
Jennie,  how  did  you  turn  the  trick?" 

Briefly  she  outlined  the  past  four  years. 

"But  it  must  have  taken  dough,  real  dough,  to  have 
put  that  across,"  he  said.  "Who  put  up  the  dough?" 

"Dad." 

"Black  Jerry!   All  of  it?" 

"Yes." 

"And  who's  backing  you  now?" 

"Dad." 

"You  mean  to  say  you're  playing  this  game  on  what 
Black  Jerry  shoves  you?  —  playing  a  big  game  like 
this  on  a  shoestring  like  that!" 

"Yes." 

He  whistled  softly.  "Well,  you  or  Black  Jerry  may 
be  short  on  chips,  but  you're  long  on  nerve!  Here's 
hoping  you  win  out!" 

"I  can't  —  unless  you  promise  not  to  tell  on  me." 

"Oh,  I'll  never  tell,"  he  assured  her. 

"Thanks,  Slim." 

"Why  should  I  tell?"  he  went  on,  smiling  frankly. 
"Even  if  I  wanted  to  be  a  crook,  what'd  there  be  in  it 
for  me?  You're  going  up  —  I  can  see  that.  I 'd  rather 
have  a  friend  at  the  top  than  a  friend  at  the  bottom  — 


1 44  *A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

where  you'd  be  if  my  tongue  got  to  running  too  free 
and  easy.  Sure,  there'll  never  be  a  whisper  or  a  sign 
from  me,  Jennie." 

She  thanked  him  again;  and  then  she  asked  how  he 
had  come  so  far  in  four  years.  He  lifted  his  shoulders 
and  smiled  at  her  with  cynical  frankness. 

"You  know  I  never  did  hate  myself,  Jennie.  I  got  up 
here  because  I  'm  a  clever  guy.  And  also  because  I  Ve 
worked  like  hell  —  yes,  don't  you  forget  it,  I  Ve  worked 
like  hell !  But  I  Ve  done  it  chiefly  because  I  own  a  bean. 
I  danced  six  months  in  vaudeville;  at  first  I  thought  it 
was  great.  Then  I  saw  I  would  get  nowhere  unless  I 
developed  an  individual  act  —  something  that  was  dif- 
ferent. That  was  when  I  put  the  bean  to  work.  I  saw 
that  the  stage  was  all  cluttered  up  with  teams  doing  ec- 
centric or  comedy  dances,  or  dancing  stunts  —  pretty 
bum,  most  of  them.  I  decided  that  the  freshest  line 
for  me  was  to  try  to  become  the  best  straight  dancer  in 
America:  you  know,  the  social  and  ballroom  stuff,  done 
better  than  anybody  else  ever  dreamed  of  doing  it  — 
more  finish  to  it,  more  refinement.  I  started  out  on  that 
line  —  and  believe  me,  Jennie,  I  sure  worked.  I  took 
lessons  as  long  as  anybody  could  teach  me  anything;  I 
practiced  by  myself;  I  worked  out  new  ideas  and  new 
combinations;  I  got  new  partners  for  my  act,  and  let  'em 
out  as  fast  as  I  got  too  good  for  them  —  and  so  I  kept 
on,  getting  better  and  better  as  a  dancer.  Am  I  knock- 
ing myself  too  hard,  Jennie?" 

"Please  go  on." 

"And  all  the  time,"  he  continued,  "  I  was  looking  out 
for  other  things.  I  made  it  my  business  to  learn  to  dress 
like  a  gentleman  and  act  like  a  gentleman.  There  are  a 
lot  of  dames  in  this  burg,  swell  dames  all  right,  who  will 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  145 

privately  take  you  on  and  teach  you  society  manners 
and  society  conversation  and  everything  there  is  to 
know  about  how  to  behave  with  the  ladies  —  and, 
Jennie,  you  would  n't  believe  how  much  coin  I  paid  out 
to  one  of  those  dames  —  but  I  made  her  earn  it,  you 
bet,  and  what  I  got  was  worth  a  hundred  times  what 
I  paid.  And  as  the  result  of  it  all,"  he  ended,  "here  I  am, 
the  delightful  and  popular  gentleman  you  see." 

"You're  the  one  who  has  done  wonders,  Slim!"  she 
exclaimed. 

"Thanks  for  the  flowers,  Jennie.  But  honest,"  he 
grinned,  "it  does  seem  a  queer  situation  when  I  think 
it  all  over.  I've  never  advertised  where  I  came  from; 
but  I  've  never  tried  to  hide  it  —  the  most  I  've  done  has 
been  to  twist  my  name  a  bit  to  get  something  that 
sounds  better  for  the  stage.  And  here  I  am,  Slim  Jack- 
son, formerly  of  the  Pekin  —  now  making  more  dough 
than  any  other  man  in  this  line  in  the  country  and 
welcome  any  place  I  go !  And  some  of  the  swell  ladies, 
real  and  would-be,  trying  to  slip  me  money  on  the  quiet 
to  dance  with  'em!  Funny,  ain't  it?  But  I'm  not  kid- 
ding myself  in  any  way.  I  'm  good,  but  this  game's  not 
going  to  last  forever,  so  yours  very  truly  is  cleaning  up 
while  the  suckers  are  falling  for  my  graft." 

"Slim,"  she  exclaimed  with  a  sudden  thought,  "you 
and  Kenneth  Harrison  seem  to  be  friends.  You're  not 
trying  to  put  anything  across  on  him  —  anything 
crooked,  I  mean?" 

"On  my  partner  —  of  course  not." 

"Your  partner?" 

"He  owns  a  piece  of  the  show  I'm  in,  and  so  do  I  — 
he  plays  with  the  show  business  on  the  side  quite  a  lot. 
Also  we're  in  two  or  three  other  deals  together.  I  '11  nat- 


146  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

urally  be  running  into  you  now  and  then,  Jennie;  but 
don't  worry  —  you  '11  always  be  Miss  Miller  whom  I  met 
for  the  first  time  in  my  life  to-night." 

After  a  moment  they  turned  away  from  the  wall  and 
swung  again  into  the  d^ice.  "Come  on,  Jennie  —  give 
her  a  little  gas!"  Slim  whispered.  Jennie  felt  such  relief 
that  she  required  no  urging;  her  spirit  free,  she  danced 
as  she  had  danced  in  the  old  Pekin  days,  plus  all  that 
little  M.  Dubois  had  taught  her.  And  marvel  though 
Slim  was  to  look  at  while  dancing,  he  was  an  even  greater 
marvel  as  a  partner :  —  no  wonder  women  of  smart  so- 
ciety were  said  to  exchange,  with  decent  indirectness, 
large  sums  for  a  dance  or  so  with  him.  Jennie  forgot  her- 
self: dancing  with  Slim  was  like  being  a  strain  of  ex- 
quisite music,  like  being  a  spring  wind. 

He  swung  her  back  to  the  wall  they  had  just  left, 
and  faced  her,  his  eyes  eager.  "Jennie,  you're  the  real 
goods ! "  he  said  excitedly.  "You 're  my  next  partner  — 
professional  partner,  I  mean." 

"But,  Slim — "  she  began,  amazed. 

"Oh,  I  don't  want  to  spring  you  all  at  once.  You're 
not  ripe.  But  after  some  private  work  with  me,  you  '11 
be  great!" 

"But,  Slim  —  your  present  partner  —  " 

"Doris  Dorraine!"  he  sniffed.  "Doris  doesn't  have 
the  real  class !  You  saw  that  yourself  to-night.  And  then 
Doris  may  drop  out  of  the  game  any  time  and  leave  me 
flat.  There  are  too  many  men  in  her  young  life.  .  .  . 
But  you,  Jennie,  you  've  got  everything !  You  may  name 
your  own  terms — only  you've  got  to  come  in!  We'll 
show  this  old  town  something  it's  never  seen  before!" 

As  she  listened  to  his  excited  speech  and  gazed  into 
his  eager  face,  a  sense  of  there  being  something  familiar 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  i  47 

about  this  scene  came  upon  her.  And  then  she  remem- 
bered. On  the  night  she  had  last  seen  Slim  he  had  made 
her  this  same  proposal. 

And  her  answer  was  in  substance  now  the  same.  "It's 
a  wonderful  chance  you  're  offering  me,  Slim  —  but 
there's  something  else  I  want  to  do." 

He  nodded  over  at  their  table.  "You  mean  you're 
going  up  with  that  bunch?" 

"I  don't  know,  Slim  —  I  don't  know  yet.  But  it's 
something  else  I  want  to  do.  I  'm  quite  definite  that  it 's 
to  be  something  else." 

The  excitement  faded  from  his  face.  He  gazed  at  her 
thoughtfully,  keenly;  then  he  smiled. 

"I'm  not  giving  the  idea  up,  Jennie.  But  it  might 
somehow  work  out  as  a  better  business  proposition  after 
you  had  solidly  landed  high  up.  More  publicity.  I  'm 
not  going  to  bother  you  about  it  any  more  —  but  just 
you  remember,  I'm  not  giving  the  idea  up."  And  then 
he  added  swiftly,  daringly:  "Nor  of  marrying  you, 
either!"  —  and  then  before  she  could  speak,  "Come  on, 
we'd  better  get  back  to  the  others." 

But  even  as  he  started  to  lead  her  away,  he  checked 
her.  "Hello,  there's  another  of  your  old  friends!"  he 
exclaimed.  "No  —  two  more! " 

"Who?"  she  breathed  sharply. 

"Harry  Edwards  —  remember  him?  —  and  with  him 
Uncle  George.  At  a  table  in  the  far  corner,  just  be- 
hind you." 

She  cautiously  glanced  around.  First  she  saw  Uncle 
George,  arrayed  as  never  were  the  lilies  of  the  field,  for 
Uncle  George,  in  this  uptown  country  that  he  called 
home,  believed  in  tailors  and  jewelers  and  haberdashers 
and  all  their  tribe.  And  then  she  saw  Harry;  he  also  was 


1  48  A  Daughter  of  Two 


in  evening  dress,  though  his  garments  were  of  a  lesser 
glory.  There  was  a  disorder  in  his  appearance  which  sug- 
gested a  disorder  in  his  mind.  That  disorder  might  have 
been  augmented  by  a  glass  which  stood  beside  his  elbow 
—  by  that  glass,  its  predecessors  and  its  kin. 

So  much  of  detail  her  quick  eyes  noted,  even  though 
the  chief,  almost  the  only,  thing  she  saw  were  Harry's 
eyes  staring  straight  at  her.  They  seemed  wild  eyes 
to  her. 

"Come  on,  Slim  —  let's  get  back,"  she  breathed 
quickly.  She  went  into  his  arms,  they  swung  through 
the  crowd,  and  a  few  moments  later  they  were  again 
at  their  table. 

"I  say,  Miss  Miller,"  cried  Kenneth  enthusiastically, 
"you  know  you  really  are  a  wonder!  I  had  no  idea  you 
were  such  a  dancer!  Jackson  himself  has  n't  much  on 
you.  And  the  next  dance  is  mine  —  and  remember, 
you  're  not  to  be  any  little  Quakeress  such  as  you  were 
when  you  danced  with  me  the  first  time." 

And  when  he  stood  up,  she  could  but  accede,  though  a 
quick  glance  showed  Harry  Edwards's  gaze  still  fixed 
upon  her:  a  glower  it  now  was.  She  tried  to  dance  as 
spontaneously  as  she  had  with  Slim,  and  she  drew  from 
Kenneth  unstinted  praise;  but  though  she  was  smiling 
into  his  face  she  hardly  heard  his  words  —  she  was 
always  conscious  of  the  eyes  of  Harry  Edwards. 

When  she  once  more  seated  herself  at  their  table, 
Slim  handed  her  a  folded  paper,  remarking,  "A  waiter 
left  that  for  you,  Miss  Miller."  She  opened  it;  it  was 
a  sheet  torn  from  a  wine-list  ;  and  across  it  was  penciled  : 

I  want  to  see  you.  Come  to  see  me  —  or  I  '11  come  to  see 
you. 

It  was  unsigned,  but  there  was  no  need  for  signature; 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  149 

she  knew  the  writing.  She  sensed  danger  —  great  dan- 
ger —  though  she  did  not  foresee  its  shape.  She  thought 
rapidly,  then  leaned  toward  Slim. 

"Please  ask  me  for  the  dance  after  this,"  she  whis- 
pered. 

He  did  so.  ' '  Dance  over  toward  Harry  Edwards, ' '  she 
said  when  they  were  on  the  floor,  "appear  to  recognize 
him  and  Uncle  George  as  old  friends,  stop  to  speak  to 
them  and  then  pretend  to  introduce  me." 

"What's  all  that  bunk  for?  Who  's  to  be  fooled?  " 

"The  people  we've  just  left.  I've  got  to  speak  to 
Harry." 

Slim  guided  her  to  where  the  two  men  sat  —  seemed 
to  see  them  for  the  first  time  —  went  through  the  show 
of  introducing  Jennie.  Uncle  George  instantly  caught 
his  cue,  and  bowed  gravely  and  with  very  fine  dignity 
over  her  hand.  But  beneath  his  breath  he  said : 

"Jennie,  you've  got  'em  all  out-looked  by  a  thousand 
miles !  You  're  going  great,  Jennie !  You  're  going  great — 
and  you're  only  half-started!" 

But  Harry  Edwards  paid  no  heed  to  cues.  His  inflamed 
eyes  blazed  wildly  at  Jennie. 

"What's  all  this  fool  acting  for?"  he  demanded. 

"Now  —  now,  better  come  on  home,  Harry,"  urged 
Uncle  George. 

"I'll  not  go  home!" 

"Harry  —  Harry,"  expostulated  the  old  man  in  a 
low  voice,  "don't  make  a  young  fool  of  yourself!" 

"You  leave  me  alone,  Uncle  George  —  this  is  my 
business!"  Fortunately  no  one  was  within  a  dozen  feet 
of  them  and  the  dance  music  swallowed  their  voices. 
"Jennie,"  he  cried  thickly,  "I'm  not  going  to  stand 
all  this  any  longer!" 


15O  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Harry,  you've  been  drinking,"  she  accused. 

"Well,  what  if  I  have!" 

"And  you've  been  following  me  to-night!" 

"Well,  what  if  I  have!"  he  cried.  "Yes,"  he  added, 
"I  have  been  following  you.  I  overheard  Harrison  at 
the  office  to-day  arrange  for  this  party,  and  I  knew  where 
you  were  going  to  be.  I've  seen  you  and  Kenneth 
Harrison  together  all  night  —  and  I  'm  not  going  to 
stand  for  it !  Yes,  I  've  followed  you !  Now,  what  are 
you  going  to  do  about  it?" 

She  perceived  that  drink  had  inflamed  his  jealousy 
to  the  point  of  recklessness.  She  tried  to  speak  sooth- 
ingly, and  at  the  same  time  to  seek  the  purpose  in  his 
mad  brain. 

"The  question  is,  Harry,  what  are  you  going  to  do?" 

"What  am  I  going  to  do?  Here's  what  I'm  going  to 
do ! "  he  cried  savagely  in  his  muddled  mixture  of  fury  and 
love,  looming  menacingly  above  her.  "I've  been  wait- 
ing four  years  for  you  —  hoping !  —  but  now  I  see  I 've 
got  no  chance  so  long  as  you  can  stick  it  out  among  those 
swells.  If  you  were  who  you  really  are,  on  your  own 
level,  then  I  might  have  some  chance  with  you.  I  'm 
going  to  have  that  chance  —  you  understand !  I  'm  go- 
ing to  tell  those  people,  everybody,  just  who  you  are!" 

There  was  insane  determination  in  his  deep-breath- 
ing figure,  in  his  flushed,  tense  face;  she  saw  that  arguing 
with  him  would  avail  her  nothing.  And  she  saw  how 
logical  and  simple  and  effective  his  announced  purpose 
seemed  to  his  frenzied  brain:  if  she  were  torn  down, 
then  she  would  have  him.  And  just  as  she  realized  the 
magnitude  of  the  danger  he  represented  —  she  did  that 
the  instant  his  last  word  passed  his  lips  —  she  glimpsed 
Kenneth  Harrison  making  a  determined  way  toward 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  151 

them.  Again  there  rushed  upon  her  the  dizzy  feeling  that 
all  was  over. 

"For  God's  sake,  Harry,  get  out  of  this!"  urged 
Uncle  George. 

"I  stick  right  here!"  returned  Harry. 

Uncle  George  stepped  quickly  forward  to  intercept 
the  approaching  Kenneth  Harrison.  He  held  out  his 
hand,  smiling. 

"Hello,  Kenneth.  Nice  of  you  to  come  over  to  visit 
an  old  tramp."  He  took  Kenneth's  arm.  "Listen  — 
there's  something  I  been  wanting  to  tell  you.  Just  step 
over  here  for  a  minute." 

But  Uncle  George's  attempted  intervention  met  with 
instant  failure.  "Not  now,  Uncle  George"  —  here  in 
his  own  world  every  one  knew  Uncle  George,  and  knew 
him  by  no  other  name.  Kenneth  freed  himself  and 
turned  quickly  upon  Harry. 

"What's  this  mean,  Edwards?"  he  said  sharply. 

"What 's  this  mean?"  Harry  repeated,  glaring  bellig- 
erently. There  was  a  moment's  pause,  with  the  two 
men  facing  each  other.  Then  Harry  exploded.  "It 
means  that  — " 

But  even  while  Jennie  seemed  reeling  to  instant  de- 
struction, her  wits  were  at  work.  They  spoke  up  swiftly 
of  their  own  accord,  interrupting  Harry  —  and  her  body 
moved  swiftly  between  the  two  men. 

"Mr.  Holt  had  just  introduced  me  to  his  friends,"  she 
explained,  "and  Mr.  Edwards  had  just  asked  me  to 
dance  with  him  and  I  had  just  promised.  Shall  we  try 
it,  Mr.  Edwards?" 

As  she  finished,  she  slipped  her  right  hand  into  Harry's 
left,  laid  her  own  left  upon  his  shoulder,  fell  instantly 
into  step  with  the  music  and  started  away.  Automati- 


152  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

calty  his  right  hand  went  to  her  waist  and  they  were 
dancing. 

They  had  made  the  round  of  the  roof  once,  both  si- 
lent, before  she  began  even  partially  to  recover  herself. 
She  then  ventured  to  look  at  Harry.  The  tensity  of  his 
face  had  relaxed  ever  so  little.  They  danced  on,  she 
now  and  then  speaking  an  easy,  inconsequential  word  — 
always  watching  his  face.  After  that  dance  and  during 
the  encore  number,  it  seemed  to  her  that  the  crazed, 
determined  look  was  gone  —  or  almost  gone. 

"Harry,"  she  said  quietly,  gently,  almost  as  if  explain- 
ing things  to  herself,  "I  don't  think  you've  been  quite 
yourself  to-night.  And  I  think  it's  been  chiefly  because 
you've  been  drinking.  You  never  did  drink  much  or 
often,  so  it's  affected  you  all  the  more.  I  think  that  was 
what  was  the  matter  with  you,  Harry." 

"That's  only  part  of  it,  Jennie!"  he  burst  out,  with  a 
groan  —  and  she  then  knew  that  the  fierce  tensity  in 
him  was  broken.  "  I  've  been  waiting  four  years  for  you, 
loving  you  all  the  time.  And  when  I  saw  you  with  Ken- 
neth Harrison  —  with  him  when  I  did  n't  dare  be  with 
you  —  and  when  I  saw  the  way  he  looked  at  you  in  the 
theater  and  the  way  he  looked  at  you  up  here  —  I  —  I  — 
oh,  it  was  just  jealousy,  Jennie!" 

"But,  Harry,  Kenneth  Harrison — " 

"Perhaps  I  would  n't  have  minded  it  so  much,"  he 
rushed  on,  "if  I  did  n't  feel  that  Kenneth  Harrison,  for 
all  his  nice  ways,  was  n't  —  well,  exactly  all  he  should 
be.  He 's  not  good  enough  for  you,  Jennie !  He 's  —  no, 
I  shouldn't  be  saying  anything  against  him;  I  know 
nothing  of  my  own  knowledge.  Yes,  I  think  I  would 
have  minded  it  just  the  same  whoever  the  other  man 
was!" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  153 

"But,  Harry,"  she  said  in  her  quiet  voice,  "I  hardly 
know  Kenneth  Harrison.  It's  his  sister  that  I  know  — 
that's  my  friend.  I  don't  care  anything  about  him; 
and  he 's  hardly  seen  me  more  than  twice  —  so  how  can 
he  care  about  me?  It's  just  something  you're  dream- 
ing, Harry." 

"  I  'm  not  so  sure  of  that,"  he  returned.  The  orchestra 
had  just  stopped,  leaving  them  near  the  entrance  to  the 
roof.  There  was  dumb  misery  and  longing  in  his  eyes. 
"I  really  lost  myself  awhile  ago,  Jennie,"  he  said 
humbly;  "I  had  just  one  desire,  to  pull  you  down.  I 
want  you,  Jennie  —  I  shall  always  want  you  —  and 
I  'm  going  to  try  to  get  you  —  but  I  shall  never  again 
try  to  get  you  that  way.  You  have  nothing  to  fear 
from  me,  Jennie  —  nothing  at  all.  And  now,  I  'm  not 
going  to  take  you  back  to  your  friends.  I  —  I  can't. 
Good-night." 

He  turned  quickly  and  was  gone.  For  a  moment  she 
stood  there  alone,  a  pang  in  her  own  heart,  seeing  that 
misery  and  longing  in  his  frank,  boyish  eyes;  he  still 
seemed  just  a  boy  to  her  —  perhaps  always  would  — 
though  he  was  now  twenty-six,  and  past. 

Before  she  had  recovered  herself  sufficiently  to  start 
away,  Kenneth  Harrison  was  beside  her.  "He  acted 
mighty  queer —  Edwards,"  Kenneth  said,  with  a  curi- 
osity in  which  there  was  a  bit  of  anger.  "What  was 
the  matter  with  him?" 

"Mr.  Edwards  did  act  queer,"  she  agreed.  "  It  must 
have  been  because  he  had  been  drinking.  I  thought  it 
better  to  dance  with  him  than  to  have  a  scene." 

"Of  course."  Her  watchful  eyes  saw  that  her  explan- 
ation was  ample  —  that  he  had  no  suspicions.  "If  he 
had  been  impertinent,  I  'd  have  had  him  fired  out  of  the 


154  ^  Daughter  of  Tivo  Worlds 

firm  —  even  though  he  does  have  the  backing  of  a  strong 
interest,  and  even  though  he  is  getting  to  be  a  valuable 
man." 

Jennie  did  not  reply.  A  little  later,  homeward-bound 
in  Kenneth's  motor,  beneath  the  surface  chatter  she 
thought  dazedly  about  that  evening.  She  was  on  the 
upgrade,  yes :  but  the  strange  part  was  how  her  old  life 
seemed  to  be  coming  forward  and  merging  itself  with 
her  new  —  how  two  of  the  persons,  both  lovers  in  a  way, 
she  had  thought  she  had  left  behind  in  the  past,  had 
that  night  strangely  reentered  her  life.  And  she  foresaw 
that  both  Harry  and  Slim  Jackson  would  in  some  way 
touch  her  future.  As  to  that  future,  she  felt  quite 
secure :  both  had  promised  to  keep  her  secret. 

And  then,  suddenly  —  it  seemed  to  spring  from  no- 
where, but  perhaps  it  was  the  working  of  subconscious 
logic  —  her  mind  had  only  one  thought,  her  father. 
Would  he,  too,  emerge  from  the  past  and  become  an 
active  presence  in  her  life?  That  could  hardly  be  any 
more  unexpected  than  what  had  happened  that  night. 
If  he  did,  when  might  it  come,  and  how? 


CHAPTER  XIV 

JENNIE  FEELS  HER  WAY 

THE  car  had  just  turned  through  the  creeper- 
skirted  stone  wall  that  shut  "Silver  Bluffs" 
off  from  the  highway,  and  had  just  drawn  up 
at  the  broad  entrance  of  the  house. 

"Here  we  are,  my  dear,"  Mrs.  Harrison  said  to 
Jennie.  "And  I  hope  you  are  going  to  like  it,  and  be 
free  in  it,  just  as  though  it  were  your  own  home." 

"I'm  sure  I  shall,  Mrs.  Harrison,"  Jennie  replied 
with  that  pleasant  shyness  which  had  become  almost  a 
natural  part  of  her  adopted  character. 

"Sue  will  show  you  to  the  room  that  is  to  be  yours, 
and  Maggie"  —  a  maid,  who  with  two  menservants 
had  come  out  to  the  car —  "will  help  you  in  any  way 
you  want.  Remember,  you  are  to  look  upon  this  as 
home." 

"Thank  you,"  said  Jennie. 

Two  minutes  later  Sue  left  her  in  her  room,  saying 
she  would  return  as  soon  as  she  had  cleaned  up  a  bit 
and  got  into  fresh  clothes.  Jennie  refused  the  offered 
ministrations  of  Maggie  and  dismissed  her;  and  without 
pausing  even  to  examine  her  room,  other  than  to  note 
that  it  was  very  large  —  quite  as  large  as  the  entire 
home  of  her  childhood  —  she  slipped  out  and  made  her 
way  down  the  broad  stairway  and  through  the  sea- 
facing  front  door.  She  did  n't  want  to  be  in  her  room 
when  Sue  came  back;  she  did  n't  want  to  see  Sue  — 
not  just  then. 

She  had  hardly  had  an  hour  to  herself  since  before 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


graduation.  Following  the  night  at  Slim  Jackson's  play 
and  on  the  Astor  roof,  there  had  been  two  days  of  shop- 
ping —  busy,  eager  days,  each  brought  to  an  exhilarat- 
ing close  by  theater-  and  supper-parties  given  by  the 
always-ready  Kenneth.  There  had  been  too  much 
excitement,  too  many  events,  to  permit  a  cool  and 
careful  study  of  her  new  circumstances.  She  felt  the 
pressing  need  of  such  study,  the  need  to  be  alone. 

She  walked  rapidly  down  a  brick-paved  path  and 
found  herself  upon  the  edge  of  a  bluff  thrust  far  out 
into  the  Sound,  below  her  the  water  beating  gently 
upon  a  mica-glittering  beach.  She  looked  back.  Jennie 
had  hitherto  visited  the  Harrisons  only  at  their  town 
house;  and  though  she  had  seen  in  the  illustrated  sup- 
plements of  the  Sunday  papers  the  pictures  of  the  so- 
called  "cottages"  of  the  rich,  and  had  passed  many  in 
motoring  about  the  country,  she  was  rather  awed  as 
she  now  made  her  first  real  observation  of  Silver  Bluffs. 
The  low-lying  brick  house  seemed  to  her  to  contain  far- 
flung  dozens  of  great  comfortable  rooms  —  there  were 
sun  parlors  and  great  piazzas;  there  were  green-houses 
and  splendid  gardens  ;  and  sloping  down  from  the  house 
there  was  a  lawn  that  might  have  come  from  the  giant 
looms  of  some  super-  velvet-maker  ;  and  below  her  was  a 
little  natural  harbor  that  had  been  extended  and  rein- 
forced by  huge  granite  breakwaters;  and  lying  in  the 
harbor  were  two  sailboats  and  three  motor  launches,  and 
the  gracefully  slender  ninety-foot  power-yacht,  the 
Myra,  which  in  a  week  or  two  wras  to  begin  its  daily  task 
of  carrying  the  male  Harrisons  to  and  from  the  city, 
doing  the  forty  miles  in  a  little  over  an  hour. 

As  she  realized  what  it  all  signified,  Jennie  drew 
a  slow,  thrilled  breath.  She  was  Jennie  Malone!  .  .  . 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  157 

And  yet  she  belonged  here  —  they  were  glad  to  have 
her  here!  .  .  . 

She  made  her  way  down  an  easy  pathway  and  seated 
herself  upon  the  bright  sand  behind  a  huge  boulder. 
Her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  quiet,  rippling  Sound,  which 
the  westering  sun  was  transmuting  into  a  giant  sheet 
of  hammered  copper,  she  sat  considering.  Her  life,  she 
realized,  had  now  fully  begun  a  new  phase;  she  was  now 
out  upon  a  larger  stage ;  she  had  at  last  definitely  en- 
tered another  world  —  she  was  farther  removed  than 
ever,  and  more  definitely  removed,  from  the  world 
which  contained  her  father  and  her  earlier  friends. 
And  she  realized  that,  for  the  future,  the  management 
of  her  life  was  wholly  in  her  hands.  This  had  been  the 
case  before,  yes;  but  in  school  there  had  been  prescribed 
grooves  which  had  held  her  toward  prescribed  and 
proper  ends.  Here,  and  from  now  on,  there  were  no 
grooves.  Her  future,  whether  she  succeeded  or  failed, 
rested  entirely  with  herself  —  with  her  cleverness,  her 
skill,  her  caution,  her  watchful  control  of  herself,  her 
tactful  handling  of  others.  She  felt  strangely  alone  in 
this  new  world  —  and  yet  she  felt  exhilaratingly  strong. 

She  considered  what,  under  these  new  circumstances, 
should  be  her  plan.  She  thought  and  thought  —  the 
dying  sun  flared  more  ruddily  upon  the  Sound  —  but 
she  could  devise,  in  detail,  no  concrete  course  of  action: 
just  exactly  what  she  should  do,  just  exactly  what  might 
happen  to  her,  lay  behind  the  glory-tinted  veil  of  youth's 
great  to-morrow.  But  a  general  plan  she  did  decide 
upon,  and  of  it  her  soul  took  a  determined  grip :  she  was 
going  up,  far,  far  up,  in  this  new  world  of  which  she 
was  now  an  accepted  part.  Her  method  of  doing  this 
would  be  to  turn  events  as  they  came  to  pass,  and  per- 


158  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

sons  as  they  touched  her  life,  all  to  her  advantage  — 
and  perhaps  she  might  so  manage  as  to  bring  some 
events  into  being. 

Also  she  perceived  that  her  immediate  career  was  to 
be  founded,  in  some  measure  —  how  large  or  small  she 
could  as  yet  not  estimate  —  upon  the  Harrisons.  She 
must  study  them,  and  study  to  please  them;  and  par- 
ticularly did  she  decide,  as  she  turned  away  from  the 
dimming  sun-path,  that  she  must  win  Mrs.  Harrison. 
No  one  else,  perhaps,  could  so  greatly  help  her. 

As  the  days  of  seeming  quiet  passed,  Jennie's  real 
attention  was  fixed  more  and  more  upon  the  Harrison 
family.  Mrs.  Harrison  was  of  first  importance,  yes; 
but  irresistibly  she  found  herself  giving  most  study  to 
Kenneth.  Since  the  evening  of  the  theater-party,  when 
Kenneth  had  so  frankly  admired  her,  her  mind  had  been 
constantly  turning  to  him.  He  was  interesting,  he  was 
more  finished  than  any  man  she  had  ever  known  — 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  Sue  had  spoken  of  him  flip- 
pantly, disparagingly.  What  was  he  really  like?  He 
came  out  four  times  during  Jennie's  first  two  weeks  at 
Silver  Bluffs,  and  little  by  little  his  portrait  grew.  Some 
of  the  details  which  filled  out  the  portrait  Jennie  learned 
from  Sue,  some  from  his  mother,  some  she  saw  or  sur- 
mised—  and  some  few  she  did  not  learn  until  much 
later.  But  presently  the  real  Kenneth  was  completed 
upon  her  mind's  canvas. 

This  real  Kenneth  was  more  of  a  person  than  Sue  had 
indicated;  very  much  more,  indeed.  Jennie  felt  that 
Sue,  influenced  by  the  distorting  intimacy  of  family  life, 
which  may  make  one  see  the  large  thing  as  small  or  the 
small  as  great,  had  been  unjust  to  Kenneth,  had  under- 
estimated him.  Kenneth,  as  Jennie  at  length  judged 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  159 

him,  was,  in  a  worldly  sense  at  least,  the  bright  star  of 
the  family.  From  the  best  houses  invitations  warmly 
beckoned  him;  he  really  was  considered  a  big  business 
man  for  one  so  young ;  he  was  one  of  the  younger  men 
that  men  of  large  affairs  had  their  eyes  fixed  upon. 
In  short,  he  was,  not  so  much  because  of  his  father's 
wealth  or  because  of  his  position  in  his  father's  business, 
as  because  of  the  impression  he  created  through  his  own 
personality,  heir  apparent  to  a  lordly  place. 

And  another  great  detail:  Kenneth  worked  much 
harder  than  he  seemed  to  work.  Like  so  many  of  the 
younger  generation  of  business  men  who  go  in  for  a  social 
life,  he  worked  at  a  killing  pace  and  for  killingly  long 
hours.  It  was  nothing  unusual  for  him  to  remain  in  his 
office  until  nine,  having  his  dinner  sent  in  —  then  dress 
for  a  ball,  and  leave  it  at  two  or  three  o'clock  —  then 
have  a  cold  bath  and  get  into  a  dressing-gown  and  work 
and  plan  until  six  —  then  have  an  hour  or  two  of  sleep 
and  be  at  the  office  again  at  nine.  He  had  time 
for  everything:  but  during  his  hours  of  work  he  did 
not  permit  himself  one  wasted  second  —  and  during 
his  hours  of  pleasure  no  one  seemed  more  careless  of 
time. 

The  completed  portrait  was,  indeed,  a  fascinating 
figure.  During  these  days  when  she  was  developing 
the  portrait  of  Kenneth,  she  was  also  trying  to  deter- 
mine what  Mrs.  Harrison  beneath  her  pleasant  exterior 
was  really  like  —  and  she  was  also  trying  to  press  for- 
ward her  main  business  which  was,  of  course,  the  thor- 
ough winning  of  Mrs.  Harrison.  This  plan  had  one 
result  she  had  not  taken  into  calculation:  she  found 
herself  warming  to  Sue's  mother  more  and  more  — 
Mrs.  Harrison  seemed  so  kindly,  so  unpretentious,  so 


160  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

unassertive,  yet  so  unquestionably  a  person  of  con- 
sequence. 

One  Friday  afternoon  when  Jennie  had  been  at  Silver 
Bluffs  for  two  weeks  —  Sue  had  motored  away  to  a 
tea  —  Mrs.  Harrison  and  Jennie  wandered  off  together, 
and  finally  brought  up  in  a  little  sunken  rose  garden. 
Mrs.  Harrison,  her  hands  in  large  gloves,  troweled  for  a 
time  with  loving  care  about  the  roots  of  her  rosebushes, 
keeping  up  a  pleasant  inconsequential  conversation 
with  Jennie  in  her  richly  modulated  voice.  Then  she 
discarded  trowel  and  gloves  and  drew  Jennie  down  into 
a  bench  beside  her. 

"Excuse  me,"  she  said,  smiling,  and  lifted  off  Jennie's 
hat.  "Please  don't  mind — I  just  feel  like  having  a 
good  look  at  you,  dear." 

A  bit  startled  and  frightened,  Jennie  gazed  back  into 
the  steady  blue  eyes.  She  noted  how,  in  the  gracious 
shadow  of  the  wide  garden  hat,  Mrs.  Harrison's  face 
was  almost  girlish,  how  her  fine,  corn-colored  hair 
showed  hardly  a  thread  of  gray,  though  half  of  it  was 
white:  just  then  she  looked  more  like  a  ripened  and 
thoughtful  older  sister  of  Sue  than  her  mother. 

Presently  Mrs.  Harrison  reached  over  and  put  a  soft 
hand  on  Jennie's  dark  hair.  "  I  like  you  very  much,  my 
dear,"  she  said  gently. 

Jennie  was  so  taken  aback  that  she  hardly  knew  what 
to  reply.  "I  —  I  don't  see  why,"  she  stammered. 

"You  are  so  simple  and  unaffected  and  generous." 

"Ami?" 

"Indeed  you  are,  my  dear." 

"  But,  Mrs.  Harrison  —  I  'm  poor  —  I  'm  nobody  — 
nothing." 

"You  are  yourself,"  the  other  returned  with  soft 


,    A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  161 

emphasis.  "That's  being  something  very  fine,  in- 
deed, to  be  simply  and  sincerely  and  honestly  your- 
self." 

Jennie  felt  a  spasm  of  guilt  as  she  gazed  into  those 
kindly  blue  eyes.  If  Mrs.  Harrison  only  knew! 

"I  wish,"  continued  Mrs.  Harrison,  "that  I  were 
going  to  see  a  lot  of  you  in  the  future  —  I  don't  mean 
weeks  or  months,  I  mean  years." 

"Why?"  breathed  Jennie. 

"  I  feel  that  beneath  your  gentleness  there  is  strength 
and  character,"  the  soft,  grave  voice  went  on.  "I  feel 
that  you  are  going  to  grow  up  into  a  splendid  woman, 
and  that  you  will  be  a  helpful  influence  to  those  whose 
fortune  it  may  be  closely  to  touch  your  life.  I  'd  like  to 
be  near  you  to  watch  you  grow." 

Jennie  had  a  dim  secondary  impression  that  the 
grave  voice  had  spoken  evasively,  or  at  least  had  uttered 
only  part  of  the  speaker's  full  thought.  But  her  dom- 
inant sense  was  of  mixed  triumph  and  bewilderment. 
She  had  won  Mrs.  Harrison!  She  could  count  on  Mrs. 
Harrison's  support  in  whatever  larger  plan  she  and  the 
future  might  evolve!  Her  whole  being  pulsed  expect- 
antly. .  .  .  But  there  were  those  strange  words  the 
grave  voice  had  spoken  about  her  growing  into  a 
splendid  woman,  being  a  helpful  influence.  Such  ideas 
were  entirely  outside  Jennie's  speculations  concerning 
herself.  In  fact,  she  did  not  quite  understand.  She 
caught  a  quick  breath,  but  she  did  not  speak.  In 
silence  the  two  sat  gazing  eye  into  eye,  Mrs.  Harrison's 
hand  still  upon  Jennie's  dark  hair.  .  .  . 

They  were  still  in  this  attitude  when  a  voice  sounded 
from  above.  "Hello  —  there  you  are  at  last!" 

They  looked  up.    On  the  retaining  wall  of  the  little 


16s  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  ^ 

garden,  in  a  long  motor  coat  of  raw-silk,  stood  Gloria 
Raymond. 

They  rose,  and  Mrs.  Harrison  stepped  forward  as 
Gloria  swished  down  the  stone  stairway. 

"Why,  Gloria  —  what  a  surprise!"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Harrison.  "Where  did  you  come  from?" 

"Home  —  of  course." 

"You  motored  out?" 

"Yes." 

"Well,  it's  kind  of  you  to  drop  in  on  us.  I  hope  you 
can  spare  the  time  to  stay  to  tea." 

"  I  can  stay  even  longer  than  that,"  said  Gloria  easily. 

"Yes?"  Mrs.  Harrison  was  puzzled. 

"  I  Ve  come  for  a  month  or  so,"  Gloria  explained. 

"Why  — Gloria!" 

"It's  all  right,  isn't  it?  You  know  you  invited  me 
to  come." 

"But  —  but,  Gloria,"  ejaculated  Mrs.  Harrison,  "it 
was  six  weeks  ago  that  I  asked  you.  And  you  never 
answered  me." 

" Did  n't  I?  I  intended  to.  I  'm  sorry  —  I  guess  I  'm 
sometimes  awfully  careless."  She  spoke  in  the  assured, 
confident  tone  of  one  who  has  always  had  her  own  way 
and  whose  right  to  that  way  has  never  been  questioned. 
"But  I'm  sure  there's  some  place  in  your  house  you 
can  tuck  me  away,  and  any  room  will  do  for  my  maid." 

Mrs.  Harrison  had  recovered  herself.  "Why,  of  course, 
it's  perfectly  all  right,  Gloria."  She  slipped  an  arm 
about  Jennie's  waist  and  drew  her  forward.  "Jennie,  I 
think  you  know  Gloria  Raymond,  don't  you?" 

Jennie  did  not  answer;  she  waited  for  Gloria  to  make 
the  first  move.  Gloria  was  autocratic  and  self-centered, 
but  she  had  a  quick  eye  for  worldly  values;  and  the 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 63 

hand  she  had  seen  on  Jennie's  hair  and  the  arm  now 
about  her  waist  informed  her  that  this  was  a  very  dif- 
ferently placed  Jennie  from  the  crude  and  friendless 
girl  who  had  first  appeared  at  Braithewood  Hall.  She 
promptly  extended  her  hand. 

"Oh,  yes,  Jennie  and  I  were  in  school  together  for  two 
years.  I'm  glad  to  see  you  again,  Jennie." 

Gloria  had  never  been  so  friendly  as  to  call  her  "Jen- 
nie "  before.  Jennie  took  the  hand.  There  was  no  pres- 
sure in  Gloria's  clasp  and  Jennie  returned  none.  Neu- 
trality was  the  best  that  could  be  said  of  their  relationship 
this  moment.  But  Jennie  realized  that  they  were  now  to 
be  much  and  intimately  together,  and  with  her  habit  of 
always  questioning,  always  peering  ahead,  for  an  instant 
her  mind  flashed  forward  in  an  endeavor  to  guess  what 
the  character  of  their  relationship  was  to  be  in  the 
future.  In  the  past  they  had  fought  physically,  as  boys 
fight.  But  they  were  now  both  young  women,  and  were 
out  in  the  fine  world.  That  relationship  might  continue 
to  be  the  neutrality  of  the  present  moment.  Or  it  might, 
again,  be  fight.  And  if  fight,  of  what  sort?  —  and  when? 
—  and  how? 


CHAPTER  XV 

GLORIA  LAYS  SIEGE 

AS  they  returned  to  the  house,  Gloria  talking  in 
that  assured  manner  which  took  everything  for 
granted,  Jennie  noted  a  perturbed  look  flit 
across  Mrs.  Harrison's  face  like  the  brief  shadows  of  an 
earthward-fluttering  leaf.  Jennie  had  her  surmise  as 
to  the  meaning  of  that  shadow ;  and  an  hour  later,  when 
Sue  came  into  her  room  and  sat  stiffly  upright  on  the 
edge  of  her  bed,  her  surmise  had  partial  confirmation. 

When  the  amiable  Sue  was  indignant,  there  had  to  be 
good  reason;  and  Sue  was  indignant  now.  "You  know 
Gloria  Raymond  is  here?"  she  demanded. 

"Yes,"  said  Jennie. 

"Of  all  the  nerve!"  flamed  the  even-tempered  Sue. 
"When  mother  asked  her,  it  was  a  situation  where 
mother  could  n't  help  inviting  her  without  being  rude. 
And  Gloria  paid  no  attention  to  the  invitation  —  and 
to-day  she  walks  in  on  us  without  a  word,  just  as  though 
she  owned  the  world !  I  tell  you,  to  act  like  that,  she  cer- 
tainly does  think  she's  it!" 

Jennie  made  no  response. 

"Oh,  I  know  why  she's  done  it,"  Sue  went  on.  "Some 
other  plan  which  she  liked  better  has  suddenly  gone 
wrong,  and  she  promptly  came  to  us  as  the  next  best 
thing.  She's  a  sweet  child,  isn't  she!  —  and  it's  a 
delightful  compliment  to  us,  is  n't  it!" 

Again  Jennie  made  no  reply.  Sue  was  now  glaring. 
For  an  instant  she  was  silent,  then  she  burst  out  again. 

"And  she's  not  here  to  see  us  at  all.  I  told  you  she'd 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 65 

broken  her  engagement,  and  had  started  in  to  try  to 
pick  up  things  again  with  Kenneth.  She's  after  Kenneth, 
and  for  her  own  reasons  she 's  decided  to  be  right  on  the 
job.  That's  why  she's  here!  Wait  and  see  —  and  just 
watch  how  that  girl  performs!" 

At  the  close  of  the  afternoon  Kenneth  arrived  for  the 
week-end,  Billy  Grayson  with  him.  When  they  all  met 
at  dinner  Jennie  at  once  perceived  that  Sue's  statement 
of  the  main  reason  for  Gloria's  coming  was  correct. 
And  the  correctness  of  that  statement  was  even  more 
apparent  when,  after  dinner,  the  young  people  started 
dancing  in  the  great  living-room,  Sue  and  Jennie  alter- 
nating at  the  piano.  There  were  no  lost  motions  in 
Gloria's  courtship,  no  indirection  due  to  maidenly  re- 
serve or  even  to  a  pretended  desire  of  being  sought.  She 
went  straight  and  undisguised  for  Kenneth,  just  as  she 
went  for  every  other  thing  on  which  her  will  or  fancy 
settled  —  with  the  confident  air  that  it  was  hers  by  right, 
and  that  no  one  would  presume  to  deny  her. 

Jennie,  watching,  had  to  admit  that  she  knew  of  no 
one  else  who  could  carry  off  that  manner  half  so  well :  if 
Gloria  were  not  actually  a  beauty,  with  her  large,  proud 
eyes  and  her  dark  hair  which  she  still  wore  bobbed,  she 
at  least  had  the  prestige  of  beauty-ship  which  comes 
from  being  frequently  described  and  published  as  a 
beauty  in  the  society  periodicals  and  in  the  picture  sup- 
plements of  the  Sunday  papers;  and  further,  her  man- 
ner, and  also  the  impression  she  made,  had  behind  them 
the  undeniable  reality  of  her  social  position  and  her  for- 
tune. Only  a  queen,  her  queenliness  unquestioned,  and 
herself  fully  conscious  of  it,  would  have  dared  be  so 
direct,  so  openly  possessive. 

As  for  herself,  Jennie  swiftly  discerned  that  Kenneth 


166  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

liked  and  admired  her  much  the  same  as  he  had  on  the 
night  of  the  first  theater-party  and  on  the  occasions  of 
his  recent  visits  home.  But  that  was  all.  To  the  swift, 
appropriating  method  of  Gloria  he  seemed  almost  in- 
stantly to  begin  to  succumb.  He  plainly  liked  her,  was 
plainly  nattered  by  her  definite  preference  for  him:  and, 
indeed,  was  there  human  reason  why  he  should  not  be 
—  considering  that  she  was  a  striking  figure  in  herself, 
and  considering  all  the  worldly  advantages  of  which  she 
was  the  living  summary? 

Watching  this  game,  Jennie  was  for  a  time  resentful 
in  Kenneth's  behalf.  He  was  altogether  too  fine,  too 
worth-while,  for  Gloria.  But  presently  she  regarded  it 
all  more  philosophically ;  she  did  n't  like  Gloria,  and  she 
did  like  Kenneth  —  but  she  could  n't  help  it,  and  it 
was  none  of  her  business. 

Sunday  afternoon  brought  two  surprises  to  Jennie 
which  made  her  forget  the  affair  between  Gloria  and 
Kenneth.  The  lesser  of  these  came  when  Slim  Jackson, 
known  here  under  his  professional  name  of  "Jackson 
Holt,"  drove  up  in  the  smartest  of  roadsters.  The  sur- 
prise was  not  Slim's  arrival  or  his  acquaintance  with  the 
family ;  her  talk  with  him  on  the  Astor  roof  was  explana- 
tion for  this.  The  surprise  was  that  he  already  knew 
Gloria  Raymond,  and,  moreover,  seemed  to  know  her 
rather  well.  But  as  Jennie  thought  this  fact  over,  it 
did  not  seem  so  strange.  Kenneth  had  told  her  that  Slim 
was  received  almost  everywhere,  and  Slim,  with  his  cu- 
rious mixture  of  self-confidence  and  mockery  at  his  suc- 
cess, had  corroborated  this  statement  of  his  social  entree. 

Jennie  was  aware  that  Slim  was  covertly  watching 
her;  and  presently,  when  he  was  apart  with  her  for  a 
moment,  he  whispered: 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  167 

"  I  say,  Jen,  you  sure  have  landed  big  with  Mrs.  Har- 
rison. Keep  it  up,  kid!  I'm  no  slouch  —  is  there  any 
way  I  can  help  you?" 

"No." 

"Maybe  I  can  —  who  knows?  And  if  I  can,  just  slip 
me  the  word." 

"Thanks,  Slim"  —  but  she  had  time  for  no  more,  for 
Kenneth  called  to  him,  and  the  two  young  men  and 
Gloria  drove  off  to  an  afternoon  dance  at  a  neighboring 
house. 

A  little  later  Sue  and  young  Grayson  were  playing 
tennis,  and  Jennie  was  sitting  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Har- 
rison on  the  front  piazza  which  looked  down  upon  the 
tiny  harbor  —  Jennie  talking  with  Mrs.  Harrison,  and 
Mr.  Harrison  going  half-sleepily  through  the  Sunday 
papers  —  when  the  second  and  greater  surprise  came. 
The  carriage  entrance  and  the  broad  turn  in  the  drive 
were  on  the  other  side  of  the  house.  Along  the  brick 
walk  from  around  the  corner,  both  in  motor  dust-coats, 
walked  Harry  Edwards  and  with  him  a  tall,  bulky  man. 
The  appearance  of  Harry  gave  her  a  start,  but  it  was  the 
other  man  who  brought  her  to  her  feet,  a  hand  going  in- 
voluntarily to  her  heart,  sudden  fear  clutching  at  her 
throat.  For  the  second  man  was  Sam  Conway:  he 
knew  her  father  well  —  she  had  seen  him  often 
during  the  far-gone  days  down  at  the  Pekin  —  and 
in  those  days  he  must  have  seen  her,  too.  Would  he 
recognize  her?  It  was  too  late  now  to  try  to  slip  out  of 
sight,  so  she  stood  waiting,  palpitant  with  suspense, 
supporting  herself  with  one  palm  against  a  white  fluted 
pillar,  while  first  the  two  older  men  greeted  each  other, 
and  then  Sam  Conway  bowed  over  Mrs.  Harrison's 
hand. 


168  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

And  then  Mr.  Harrison  turned  toward  her.  "And  this, 
Mr.  Conway,"  he  said,  "is  our  guest,  Miss  Miller." 

Sam  Conway  advanced  and  held  out  his  hand.  He 
had  the  politician's  habit  of  handshaking,  and  he  made 
much  of  it.  Jennie  could  barely  stand,  but  she  laid  her 
hand  in  his,  and  managed  to  look  up  into  his  face,  which 
despite  his  sixty  years  was  still  full  and  florid  —  a  face 
whose  ever-ready  geniality  had  secured  for  him,  in  ad- 
dition to  "Big  Sam,"  the  more  intimate  title  among  his 
adherents  of  "Smiling  Sam"  Conway. 

"I'm  very  glad  to  meet  you,  Miss  Miller,"  he  said 
heartily,  his  smiling  gaze  full  upon  her. 

His  shrewd,  frank-seeming  eyes  showed  no  recognition 
of  her;  she  knew,  for  certain,  that  he  had  no  idea  who 
she  really  was.  Such  relief  swept  into  her  that  it  was 
well  her  free  hand  was  still  against  the  pillar.  But  in- 
stantly her  quick  mind  understood;  to  her,  in  the  old 
days,  Sam  Conway  had  been  one  of  the  large  figures  of 
her  world,  gazed  on  occasionally  and  from  afar;  to  him, 
she  had  never  been  more  than  one  of  the  unremember- 
able  thousands  of  children  he  was  forever  meeting  and 
complimenting  parents  upon. 

"Thank  you,  Mr.  Conway,"  she  managed  to  say. 

"I  am  very  glad,  indeed,  to  meet  you,  Miss  Miller," 
he  repeated  in  his  voice,  so  resonant  with  heartiness. 
He  pressed  her  hand,  held  it  for  a  moment  —  it  was  his 
instinct  to  prolong  a  handshake  when  it  was  part  of  an 
introduction  —  and  gazed  with  his  steady  geniality  down 
into  her  dark  eyes.  Then  he  loosed  her  hand  and  turned 
away. 

And  thus,  with  most  perfunctory  words,  these  two 
met  and  parted  —  never  fated  really  to  meet  each  other 
again:  and  neither  with  even  a  dream  of  how,  though 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 69 

never  meeting,  the  workings  of  life  were  to  make  each 
a  profound  influence  upon  the  destiny  of  the  other. 

After  a  moment  the  two  older  men  withdrew  into  Mr. 
Harrison's  study  off  the  library,  Mr.  Harrison  with  keen 
interest.,  but  also  with  reserve.  This  relationship  with 
Conway  had  been  good  business,  but  he  had  never 
cared  to  have  the  relationship  extend  beyond  the  bound- 
aries of  business  affairs. 

"Anymore  news  about  those  recreation  pier  contracts, 
Conway?" 

"  I  Ve  landed  those  all  right  —  though  we  can't  make 
it  public  yet." 

"Good!  It's  mighty  thoughtful  of  you  to  drive  out 
and  tell  me." 

"That's  not  what  I  drove  out  for,  Jim.  I  could  have 
'phoned  you  that  —  or  let  it  wait  till  I  saw  you  in  town." 

"Then  why  did  you  come  out?" 

"Oh,  Harry  Edwards  and  I  were  just  out  driving,  and 
I  thought  I  might  as  well  drop  in  and  tell  you  about  a 
little  thing  I  learned  last  night." 

"Yes?" 

"I  guess  you  know  the  twist  things  have  taken  be- 
tween me  and  Larry  Murdock?" 

Mr.  Harrison  nodded. 

"Well,  I  learned  last  night  that  there  is  no  patching 
things  up ;  it 's  now  got  to  be  a  fight  to  the  finish.  And 
Sam  Conway 's  not  always  a  safe  man  to  buck."  For 
an  instant  his  genial  face  tightened  grimly;  his  look  gave 
an  almost  startling  emphasis  to  his  last  sentence;  then 
his  features  were  pleasant  again.  "  But  we  might  as  well 
face  this  fact,  Jim;  if  Murdock  does  what  he  thinks  he's 
going  to  do,  he'll  put  me  down  and  out." 

"  I  'm  sorry  —  I  wish  I  could  help  you  —  but  you 


1 7O  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

know  I  Ve  always  said  I  could  take  no  part,  directly  or 
indirectly,  in  your  political  affairs  —  and  particularly 
not  in  your  feuds  within  your  own  party." 

"I'm  not  asking  you  to  —  yet,"  the  other  said 
blandly.  "I'm  merely  asking  you  to  consider,  if  I'm 
put  down  and  out,  what  that  will  mean  to  Mr.  James 
Harrison,  of  Harrison  and  Company,  in  a  business  way." 

Mr.  Harrison  looked  his  question. 

"It  will  mean  that  all  the  contracts  I  Ve  been  able  to 
swing  to  the  firm,  I  '11  not  be  able  to  swing  any  more,  and 
that  those  contracts  will  go  some  place  else.  It  will  mean 
that  about  fifty  per  cent  of  your  total  business  will  be 
suddenly  sliced  off.  That  ought  to  interest  you." 

It  did.  Mr.  Harrison  looked  very  gravely  at  Conway 
for  a  long  moment.  "But  I  don't  see  how  I  can  help 
out.  As  I  said,  I  never  did  mix  in  that  end  of  things." 

"Yes,  you  always  were  respectable,  Jim."  If  there 
was  irony  or  acrimony  or  menace  in  Conway's  mind  his 
even  voice  did  not  show  it.  "You  took  the  business  I 
turned  in,  and  never  asked  questions  about  how  I  got  it; 
you  never  wanted  to  know.  And  I  admit  it  paid  me  to 
have  you  clean  and  respectable.  Guess  I  Ve  been  fairly 
square  myself,  as  men  average  up.  But  now  if  you  don't 
want  your  business  lopped  in  two,  and  if  I  don't  want  to 
lose  everything,  we've  got  to  get  down  to  brass  tacks, 
—  and  you've  got  to  come  in  quick  and  help  me." 

"How?" 

"Use  your  respectable  connections.  Figure  out  how 
they  can  make  it  worth  Murdock's  while  if  he  leaves  me 
alone  —  or  how  they  can  squeeze  him  if  he  does  n't." 

For  the  next  half-hour,  the  two  men  discussed  this 
proposition.  In  the  meantime,  out  on  the  piazza.,  Mrs. 
Harrison,  a  hand  on  the  shoulder  of  Jennie  who  sat  at 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  171 

her  feet  on  the  steps,  had  assumed  the  tactful  hostess's 
duty  of  starting  conversation  between  Jennie  and  Harry 
Edwards. 

"So  you  two  have  met  before,"  had  been  her  first  re- 
mark after  the  men  had  withdrawn. 

"Yes,"  replied  Jennie.  "We  met  on  the  Astor  roof 
that  first  night  Kenneth  took  us  out.  Mr.  Edwards  and 
I  had  a  dance  together." 

"Oh,  then  you  really  know  each  other." 

"Yes  —  a  little,"  Jennie  admitted. 

Mrs.  Harrison  chatted  on  for  a  few  minutes,  then 
arose.  She  recognized  the  gulf  time  had  eroded  between 
forty-five  and  twenty,  and  it  was  part  of  her  idea  of 
human  relationships  that  the  middle-aged  should  not 
intrude  unnecessarily  upon  the  interests  natural  to  the 
young. 

"I  must  give  orders  about  tea,  so  you '11  please  excuse 
me.  I  think  you'll  find  Sue  and  Billy  Grayson  playing 
tennis." 

Jennie  and  Harry  strolled  off  together,  but  not  toward 
the  tennis  courts.  Presently  they  brought  up  at  the  tiny 
beach,  with  its  huge  boulder,  where  two  weeks  before 
Jennie  had  communed  with  herself  and  had  readjusted 
and  added  to  her  patient  plans  for  her  enlarging  life. 

Harry  glanced  about.    Their  seclusion  was  perfect. 

"I  was  down  at  the  Pekin  last  night  and  saw  your 
father,"  he  began. 

"How  was  he?"  she  asked  quickly. 

"In  good  health  —  but  in  an  awful  temper  at  me." 

"Why?" 

"You  see  I  told  him  about  my  meeting  you  the  other 
night,  and  about  my  threatening  you." 

"What  did  he  say?" 


172  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Toned  down  and  made  elegant  it  was  to  the  effect 
that  he  'd  smash  my  everlasting  head  if  I  messed  things 
up  for  you.  And  he'd  do  it,  too.  I  told  him  I  was  going 
to  behave."  Harry's  frank  blue  eyes  fixed  upon  her  in 
grave  reflection.  "I  thought  about  it  last  night  as  he 
sat  in  his  little  office  with  his  big  hands  gripped  in  front 
of  him:  Black  Jerry  down  there  in  the  Pekin,  asking 
nothing  for  himself  —  you  up  here,  one  of  the  regular 
swells.  He 's  a  strange  man,  Black  Jerry  —  but  believe 
me,  he's  all  right!" 

Jennie  did  not  answer.  Her  mind  saw  the  set  look  on 
her  father's  dark  face  when,  four  years  before,  he  had 
sent  her  out  of  his  life;  saw  that  set,  goggled  face  as  it 
gazed  unwaveringly  at  her  two  weeks  since  while  she 
had  delivered  her  valedictory  address.  A  fierce  hunger 
surged  up  within  her;  pretending  to  gaze  at  a  passing 
steamer,  she  turned  her  head  to  hide  the  tears  which 
sprang  into  her  eyes.  A  moment  went  by;  then  she 
deftly  managed  to  wipe  her  eyes  unnoticed. 

"How  are  you  getting  on  in  business,  Harry?"  she 
asked,  her  eyes  still  seaward. 

"Fine!  With  the  affairs  Sam  Conway  makes  the  firm 
put  in  my  hands,  I'm  going  right  up!"  His  tone  was 
bitter.  "Of  course  I'm  not  within  a  million  miles  of 
where  you  are;  I  saw  how  strong  you  are  with  the  Har- 
risons from  the  way  Mrs.  Harrison  treated  you.  And 
Kenneth  Harrison"  —  with  a  flare  of  jealousy  —  "he's 
right  here  on  the  ground  where  he  can  see  you  whenever 
he  likes.  I  suppose  he's  gone  on  you!" 

"Don't  be  foolish!"  she  said  sharply  but  kindly.  " I 
told  you  before  that  I  meant  nothing  to  him.  And  just 
now  he  can't  see  anything  but  another  girl." 

"  I  hope  he  marries  her,  and  quick!"  Harry  exclaimed 


A.  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  173 

fervently.  He  put  his  hands  on  her  shoulders.  "Look  at 
me,  Jennie!"  She  obeyed;  the  blue  eyes,  so  boyishly 
frank,  were  ashine  with  determination  and  worshipful 
desire.  "Jennie — I'm  working  hard,  just  for  you!  And 
I'm  going  to  make  good,  in  a  big  way,  just  for  you! 
I  can  wait  —  I  can  work  —  I'm  going  to  make  myself 
seem  worth-while  even  to  you  —  and  I  'm  going  to  have 
you  in  the  end!" 

She  was  moved  by  his  ardent  directness.  "You're  a 
dear,  dear  fool,  Harry,"  she  said  softly.  "But,  Harry,  it 
would  n't  be  fair  if  I  did  n't  tell  you  that  it's  no  use  for 
you  to  feel  that  way  about  me.  I  '11  never  feel  that  way 
about  you  —  never,  never.  So  forget  me,  and  just  think 
about  your  work." 

"What  you  say  now  is  n't  going  to  change  me,"  he 
returned.  "My  love  for  you  is  going  right  on.  It's  the 
biggest  thing  in  my  life !  I  like  my  work,  yes  —  I  see  a 
career  ahead  that  I  can  be  proud  of.  But  if  you  were 
taken  out  of  my  life,  Jennie"  —  he  spoke  with  a  tender- 
ness that  was  fierce,  exalted,  even  reckless —  "if  you 
were  taken  out  of  my  life,  I  would  n't  give  a  damn  for 
any  career!  I  would  n't  give  a  damn!" 

"You're  a  dear  romanticist,  Harry  —  you're  a  dear, 
dear  boy!  But"  —  she  shook  her  head  decidedly  — 
"but  you  really  don't  care  that  much  for  me  —  and 
your  dream  about  finally  making  me  love  you,  that's 
never  coming  true." 

"Oh,  yes,  it  is!"  he  declared  dominantly. 

"Oh,  no,  it's  not!"  she  retorted. 

Silent,  they  gazed  in  straight-eyed  defiance  at  each 
other,  almost  belligerent  in  their  youthful  confidence. 
At  that  moment  each  believed  that  for  him  the  future 
was  to  be  determined  and  controlled  by  his  own  will; 


1 74  *A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

each  saw  the  future,  in  its  general  outlines,  as  clearly 
denned  and  comparatively  simple.  Full  of  the  pride  and 
confidence  of  youth,  they  never  guessed  that  they  might 
be  the  playthings  of,  the  mere  clay  to  be  shaped  by, 
forces  which  they  did  not  even  perceive,  much  less  take 
into  account :  the  forces  which  existed  unknown  to  them 
within  themselves  —  the  slow  forces  brought  into  being 
by  Black  Jerry  and  Uncle  George  —  the  forces  of  still 
other  wills  —  the  forces  of  that  great  complex  organism, 
life,  all  human  life,  which  may  stretch  forth  its  influence 
out  of  unsuspected  regions,  and  perhaps  swiftly,  per- 
haps imperceptibly,  alter  all  man-conceived  designs. 

Presently  the  rigidity  of  their  self-will  and  deter- 
mination relaxed  and  they  smiled  at  each  other —  smiles 
that  were  warmed  by  the  coppery  sun-glow  thrown  up 
from  the  wrinkled  water.  They  turned  and  strolled  back 
to  the  house  where  now,  on  the  piazza,  sat  the  Harri- 
sons and  all  their  guests;  and  such  was  their  manner  of 
casual  friendliness  that  to  all,  save  to  Slim  Jackson  alone, 
they  seemed  no  more  than  mere  acquaintances  who  just 
now  had  met  for  only  the  second  time. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

JENNIE  IS  SET  A  TASK 

THAT  Sunday  evening  while  Jennie,  at  the  piano, 
was  softly  playing  old  melodies  to  the  family, 
Kenneth  and  Gloria  wandered  out  of  the  great 
living-room  into  the  library.  After  a  time  Kenneth 
returned  and  whispered  to  his  mother;  one  by  one  the 
family  quietly  withdrew,  until  Jennie  became  aware 
that  she  was  playing  to  an  empty  room.  Rather  pleased 
with  this  solitariness  she  slipped  through  the  soft  night 
out  to  the  end  of  the  pier,  and  alone  under  the  clear  June 
stars,  her  mind  swung  to  and  centered  upon  herself 
and  her  position. 

All  things  considered,  she  was  satisfied.  She  felt  that 
she  had  strengthened  and  solidified  her  position,  so  that 
it  was  the  firm  base  for  new  advance  movements.  She 
had  a  sense  that  some  great  forward  action  was  just 
before  her ;  it  was  a  very  definite  sense,  and  she  tried  to 
peer  into  the  future  and  see  what  it  was  that  was  going 
to  befall  her  or  what  it  was  that  she  was  going  to  do. 
But  the  future  would  not  open  to  her. 

When  she  returned  to  the  house  the  family  was  still 
behind  the  closed  door  of  the  library.  As  she  went  on  up 
to  bed  she  wondered  what  the  council  could  be  about. 
But  the  following  morning  its  nature  was  unmistakable 
to  her,  for  when  father  and  son  started  for  their  train, 
Kenneth  kissed  Gloria  good-bye  before  every  one,  and 
Mr.  Harrison,  holding  her  hand,  and  also  kissing  her, 
said  heartily:  "I'm  mighty  glad  about  it,  Gloria  — 
mighty  glad!" 


1 7  6  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Sue  maneuvered  Jennie  over  to  the  tennis  courts  and 
drew  her  down  upon  a  bench.  "  I  suppose  you  can  guess 
what's  happened?"  she  demanded. 

"Having  eyes  I  could  hardly  help  having  a  guess," 
Jennie  replied.  "When  are  they  going  to  announce 
it?" 

"  They  don't  want  to  announce  it  for  quite  a  while  yet 
—  that  is,  Gloria  does  n't.  It  would  n't  sound  very  well 
coming  so  soon  after  the  breaking-off  of  her  other  en- 
gagement." Then  Sue  flamed  out:  "  Did  n't  I  tell  you  she 
was  a  quick  worker!  I  never  saw  such  nerve!" 

"You  don't  seem  to  be  wholly  pleased  with  it,  Sue," 
Jennie  returned  calmly. 

"  I  should  say  I  'm  not  pleased  with  it!  Nor  is  mother. 
Mother  and  I  had  a  long  talk  about  it,  last  night,  and 
we're  both  sick  —  simply  sick!" 

"Why?  I  thought  Gloria  was  quoted  very  high  in  the 
marriage  market." 

"She  is  —  by  some  people.  But  she's  selfish  —  she 
never  thinks  about  anything  except  what  she  wants  to 
do  and  what  suits  her  —  she  '11  never  give  one  minute's 
thought  to  what  is  best  for  Kenneth,  she'll  be  simply  a 
drag  which  will  keep  him  from  becoming  the  big  man  he 
ought  to  be!"  Sue  was  silent  a  moment,  then  she  added 
abruptly:  "Besides,  it  is  n't  in  her  to  care  for  one  man 
very  long  —  she's  clearly  proved  that.  I  tell  you,  it's 
just  going  to  turn  out  an  awful  mess!" 

"  If  all  that  is  true,  then  how  could  a  man  who  knows 
the  world  as  well  as  Kenneth  get  drawn  into  it?" 

"Oh,  any  clever  woman  that  tries  can  get  around  Ken- 
neth," Sue  replied  contemptuously.  "Besides,  Kenneth 
since  he  was  a  half-witted  boy  has  been  keen  about 
Gloria.  That  made  it  easy  for  her." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  177 

"But  even  if  you  and  your  mother  are  not  pleased, 
your  father  seems  happy  enough." 

"Oh,  father  and  mother  have  different  ideas  about  a 
lot  of  things.  He's  a  business  man,  and  he  can't  help 
seeing  this  from  a  business  point  of  view.  And  it  may 
seem  all  right  in  a  business  way;  it  will  probably  give 
Kenneth  control  of  an  awful  lot  of  additional  capital. 
But  —  "  and  Sue's  face  set  with  determination  —  "  I  'm 
not  going  to  have  it,  and  mother's  not  going  to  have  it, 
if  we  can  help  it !  That 's  what  we  're  thinking  about  — 
how  to  stop  it." 

"I'd  think  your  mother  could  do  that  by  telling 
Kenneth  what  a  marriage  with  Gloria  would  mean  to 
him,  and  telling  him  she  did  n't  want  him  to  marry 
Gloria." 

"It  wouldn't  work.  First,  Kenneth  wouldn't  be- 
lieve it.  And  then,  telling  Kenneth  not  to  do  a  thing 
is  the  surest  way  to  make  him  do  it.  I  Ve  already  told 
you  that.  We've  got  to  do  something  else  —  we've  got 
to  handle  him  indirectly."  Sue  regarded  Jennie  with 
an  imploring  yet  determined  air.  "Jennie,  you've  got 
to  help  us!" 

"I!"  exclaimed  Jennie.   "How?" 

"I  don't  know,  but  you're  clever  and  you  ought  to 
think  of  some  way.  I  Ve  thought  of  one  thing,  and  you 
might  try  that  until  you  think  of  something  else." 

"What  is  it?" 

"Gloria  has  lots  of  money  and  she's  pretty  much  of 
somebody  out  in  society,  but  in  every  other  way  you 
outclass  her.  You  are  more  clever  than  she  is,  and  you 
can  do  more  things.  Kenneth  likes  you  a  lot;  if  you  half 
tried  you  could  make  him  like  you  a  lot  more  —  you 
might  cool  down  his  enthusiasm  for  Gloria.  You  wade 


178  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

right  in  and  make  yourself  as  interesting  as  possible. 
That'll  start  something,  and  later  we  may  think  of 
something  else." 

Jennie  stared.  "I  say,  Sue,  you  are  not  altogether 
lacking  in  what  you  said  Gloria  had  so  much  of  — 
nerve!"  She  shook  her  head.  "I  never  have  hired  out 
as  a  flirt,  and  as  a  profession  it  does  n't  appeal  to  me, 
and  besides,  I  know  I  'd  make  a  mess  of  it.  No,  thank 
you." 

"But,  Jennie,"  Sue  urged,  "mother  and  I  are  des- 
perate about  this.  We  Ve  got  to  break  it  up  somehow. 
You  've  simply  got  to  help,  Jennie  —  you  Ve  simply  got 
to  help!" 

"Why  not  try  to  talk  Gloria  out  of  it?  There  she  is 
headed  this  way  with  a  racket." 

Sue  gave  a  glance  toward  the  house.  Sure  enough, 
Gloria  was  approaching,  all  in  white,  wearing  a  wide 
hat  tied  with  a  veil  beneath  her  chin  —  a  hat  strikingly 
handsome  in  itself,  but  chosen  for  its  distinction  rather 
than  for  its  fitness  for  the  active  sport  which  her  racket 
announced. 

"I  can't  stand  to  talk  to  her  now,"  breathed  Sue. 
"Good-bye — " 

"No,  you  don't;  you're  going  to  stay  right  here." 
And  Jennie,  catching  her  arm,  drew  her  back  to  the 
bench. 

"Where  are  you  going,  Sue?"  asked  Gloria  when  she 
had  sauntered  up  to  the  pair. 

Jennie  was  prompt  to  answer  in  Sue's  behalf;  she 
spoke  in  a  calm  voice :  "Sue  was  hurrying  off  to  get  into 
her  tennis  togs  to  have  a  match  with  you,  Gloria." 

" I'm  glad  you  kept  her."  Gloria  sat  down,  an  elbow 
on  the  back  of  the  bench,  and  regarded  Jennie  coolly  — 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  179 

with  more  of  her  native  arrogance  than  she  had  shown 
thus  far  during  her  visit.  "  I  Ve  been  waiting  to  have  a 
little  talk  with  you." 

"  I  appreciate  your  desire  to  give  me  your  confidence, 
Gloria,"  Jennie  said  evenly. 

"It  was  n't  to  give  you  my  confidence  that  I  wanted 
to  see  you!"  was  the  sharp  reply. 

"I  think  I 'd  better  go."   And  again  Sue  tried  to  rise. 

"I'd  rather  have  you  stay,"  said  Gloria,  "and  know 
just  what  it's  about." 

"Yes,  please  do  stay."  And  Jennie  once  more  drew 
the  unwilling  Sue  back  upon  the  bench. 

"I  guess,  Jennie,"  Gloria  continued  coolly,  "that  you 
know  about  Kenneth  and  me." 

"I  guess  every  one  does  who  saw  the  parting  scene 
this  morning." 

Gloria's  dark  eyes,  straight  upon  Jennie,  gleamed  im- 
periously. "What  I  wanted  to  say  to  you  won't  take 
many  words.  You've  been  playing  around  a  lot  with 
Kenneth.  There's  to  be  no  more  of  that." 

There  was  no  longer  any  doubt  in  Jennie  as  to  what 
was  to  be  her  relationship  with  Gloria.  They  were  to 
fight.  But  she  controlled  herself,  and  spoke  evenly. 

"HI 've  played  with  Kenneth,  it's  been  because  he's 
asked  me  to.  If  you  want  this  stopped,  why  don't  you 
order  Kenneth  to  stop  asking  me?" 

"I  guess  I  know  the  way  to  manage  this!" 

"And  I  guess  you  know,  then,"  Jennie  taunted  in  her 
even  voice,  "that  if  you  were  to  order  Kenneth  to  stop 
asking  me,  he'd  ask  me  all  the  more.  Well,  you  ought 
to  know,  then,  that  trying  to  order  me  is  just  about  as 
effective." 

"You  mean  you  won't  do  it?" 


1 8o  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"I'm  not  saying,  Gloria,  for  I  don't  know.  But  I 
shall  do  just  about  what  happens  to  please  me." 

"I  gave  you  your  chance  to  keep  out  of  this  on  your 
own  accord!"  Gloria  flamed  at  her.  "Now  you'll  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it!  You'll  be  put  out!" 

"Yes?"  Jennie  queried.    "And  how?" 

"I  shall  inform  Mrs.  Harrison  that  you  are  an  un- 
congenial, unendurable  person  to  me,"  Gloria  answered 
furiously.  "As  I  am  her  daughter-in-law  to  be,  there'll 
be  no  way  out  of  it  except  for  her  to  ask  you  to  go." 

Jennie  regarded  her  steadily. 

"Well  —  are  you  going  to  make  me  do  that?"  Gloria 
demanded. 

"Gloria,  you're  a  dear,  sweet  child  —  but  just  a  trifle 
spoiled,"  Jennie  returned.  "You  know  you  need  a 
spanking,  Gloria  —  you  really  do.  And  you  know  I 
could  give  you  a  spanking,  too.  The  only  thing  that  re- 
strains me  is  consideration  for  Mrs.  Harrison:  it  might 
humiliate  her  a  little  for  her  prospective  daughter-in- 
law  to  be  spanked  in  public.  But  if  I  should  change  my 
mind  and  decide  to  spank  you,  it  will  be  a  strictly  high- 
class  job  —  none  better  of  its  kind." 

Gloria  was  speechless ;  she  could  only  glare. 

"Or  perhaps  I  might  save  your  going  to  Mrs.  Harri- 
son," Jennie  continued  in  her  even  voice.  "I  might  go 
to  her  myself,  tell  her  of  your  objection  to  me,  tell  her 
of  your  threat,  and  offer  to  remove  myself.  I  know  that 
would  make  her  simply  adore  you.  Now,  run  along, 
Gloria  —  I  want  to  be  alone  to  think  it  all  over.  You 
really  might  as  well  go,  for  Sue  is  n't  going  to  play  tennis 
with  you,  and  neither  am  I  —  and,  besides,  my  dear, 
forgive  me  for  saying  it,  you  look  just  a  bit  silly  with 
that  big  hat  flopping  about  your  ears  when  you  're  chas- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  181 

ing  shots  around  the  court  which  you  never  get.  I  'm 
sure  Kenneth  must  have  noticed  how  funny  you  looked 
when  you  were  playing  with  him  yesterday.  I  'd  go  put 
on  something  else,  Gloria —  I  really  would." 

Gloria  was  on  her  feet,  trembling.  "You  —  you  — " 
But  she  choked,  and  could  get  no  more  out. 

"You  little  Wyoming  runt,"  supplied  Jennie  pleas- 
antly. "I'd  forgotten  it  —  but  I  see  you  remember 
all  about  that  little  debate  we  had  in  the  squash  court 
at  Braithewood  four  years  ago." 

Gloria  whirled  about,  and  furiously  crossed  the  tennis 
lawn  toward  the  house. 

"Jennie!"  breathed  Sue  in  amazement.  "Jennie!" 
And  then:  "Jennie  —  I  can't  understand  —  most  of  the 
time  you  're  so  gentle  you  seem  almost  afraid  of  every- 
body —  and  then  sometimes  you  wake  up  and  simply 
eat  people  raw." 

"  Don't  talk  now,  Sue,"  Jennie  returned.  "  I  want  to 
think." 

Though  she  had  spoken  composedly  enough  to  Gloria, 
that  had  been  only  because  she  had  learned  the  great 
value  and  advantage  of  self-control;  within  she  was 
blazing  as  fiercely  as  on  that  day  of  long  ago  when  in 
unleashed  fury  she  had  thrown  Gloria  to  the  floor  of  the 
squash  court  and  sat  upon  her  stomach.  She  wanted  to 
strike  —  strike  fiercely  and  hurtingly !  .  .  .  And  then 
in  her  swift  thinking  it  came  upon  her  that  nothing  she 
could  do,  provided  she  could  do  it,  would  be  such  effec- 
tive and  sweet  revenge  as  balking  Gloria's  engagement 
to  Kenneth.  That  would  be  wonderful. 

And  then  she  saw  another  advantage  in  this  revenge. 
If  she  should  help  break  the  engagement,  and  do  it  in 
an  unobtrusive  manner,  yet  so  that  Mrs.  Harrison  per- 


182  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

ceived  that  she  had  done  it  —  why,  nothing  else  could 
possibly  so  strengthen  her  position  with  Mrs.  Harrison! 

She  was  smiling  half-humorously  when  she  looked 
again  at  Sue.  "  I  don't  especially  blame  you  for  not  long- 
ing to  have  Gloria  as  a  sister-in-law.  As  I  told  you,  I  've 
never  hired  out  as  a  flirt  before,  and  I  don't  believe  I 
have  any  special  gifts  for  that  trade  —  but  if  you  still 
want  me  to  try,  I'll  see  what  I  can  do." 

"Oh,  Jennie  —  if  you  only  will  — " 

"Wait  a  second.  There's  a  condition.  Kenneth  will 
have  eyes  and  time  for  only  Gloria.  I  can  do  nothing 
if  I  try  it  all  alone.  You  and  your  mother  must  help. 
Whenever  Kenneth  is  at  home,  you  and  your  mother 
must  manage  to  occupy  Gloria's  attention  from  time  to 
time  —  that  will  create  a  sort  of  vacancy  and  make  an 
opportunity  for  Kenneth  to  be  polite  to  me." 

Sue  promised.  That  evening  Kenneth  came  home; 
he  had  arranged  to  commute  by  the  railroad  until  the 
Myra  was  in  active  service.  After  dinner  there  was  in- 
formal dancing  in  the  living-room;  Gloria  danced  two 
numbers  with  Kenneth,  and  then  in  a  most  natural 
manner  Mrs.  Harrison  drew  her  into  conversation. 

"You  two  dance,"  Sue  said  to  Jennie  and  Kenneth. 
"It's  my  turn  to  play." 

And  so  they  began  to  dance.  Outwardly  Jennie  was 
shy,  even  deprecatory;  inwardly  she  was  afire  with  the 
determination  to  make  herself  as  attractive  as  possible  to 
Kenneth.  She  danced  with  all  her  skill,  all  her  lithe 
freedom  —  yet  ever  trying  to  give  Kenneth  the  sense 
that  he  was  leading  her.  She  saw  that  he  was  delighted 
with  her  as  a  partner,  and  a  glance  from  Sue  spoke 
eloquently  of  the  contrast  between  her  dancing  and 
Gloria's.  The  one-step  with  their  interpolated  variations 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  183 

at  an  end,  Sue  begged  Jennie  to  sing;  and  Jennie,  in  her 
warm  mezzo,  which  the  really  excellent  master  at  Braithe- 
wood  had  done  much  to  develop  and  bring  under  her 
control,  sang  "Habanera"  from  "Carmen,"  after  that 
Schubert's  "  Ave  Maria."  She  saw  the  baleful  displeas- 
ure in  Gloria's  face,  and  that  was  inspiration  for  her 
to  outdo  herself.  After  "Ave  Maria"  she  refused  to  sing 
again,  and  insisted  that  the  dancing  be  resumed  and  of- 
fered to  play  in  Sue's  stead. 

Kenneth  crossed  and  asked  Gloria  to  dance,  but  Gloria's 
wild  resentment  prompted  her  to  reply,  with  a  fairly 
well-managed  show  of  indifference,  that  she  was  en- 
gaged in  conversation  with  his  mother.  So  Kenneth 
danced  again  with  Jennie,  and  as  the  end  of  the  dance 
brought  them  to  the  door,  wide  open  to  the  night, 
Kenneth,  with  a  "Let's  have  just  a  minute  of  fresh 
air,"  swung  her  through  and  out  upon  the  piazza,  and 
drawing  her  hand  through  his  arm  led  her  down  upon 
the  walk. 

"I  thought  you  were  wonderful  that  night  on  the 
Astor  roof,"  he  enthused,  "but  now  you  seem  even  more 
wonderful !  You  are  the  best  dancer  I  ever  danced  with ! " 

"Oh,  hardly  that,"  she  laughed.  "But  if  I  dance  a 
little  better  than  most  girls,  it's  just  because  I  like  it 
a  little  better." 

"If  you  like  it  that  way,  then  dancing's  one  thing 
we'll  never  disagree  about."  He  spoke  lightly,  yet  there 
was  real  interest  beneath  his  words.  "But  the  way  you 
sing !  I  did  n't  know  before  that  you  sang.  You  could  do 
a  lot  with  that  voice  if  you  cared  to.  I  know,  for  I  've 
helped  back  one  or  two  musical  plays  —  and,  believe 
me,  no  careful  pawnbroker  would  loan  more  than  ten 
cents  upon  the  voices  of  most  of  the  musical  comedy 


1 84  -A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

prima  donnas.  You're  uncovering  new  marvels  each 
day.  What  else  can  you  do?" 

"Nothing,  I  guess.  And  what  you've  spoken  about 
does  n't  seem  remarkable  to  me.  I  just  happen  to  like 
to  do  those  things  —  that's  all  there  is  about  it." 

They  were  now  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
house.  "You  can't  explain  it  away  —  you  can't  make 
yourself  commonplace  —  you're  simply  wonderful!" 
He  halted,  and  laid  a  hand  upon  the  hand  resting  on  his 
arm.  "I  think  you  are  simply  wonderful!" 

"And  do  you  know  what  I  think  about  you?"  she 
asked  in  a  grave  voice. 

"What?" 

"I  think  you  are  holding  my  hand." 

He  started  at  this  directness,  then  laughed  softly. 
"Why,  I  rather  thought  that  same  thing  myself." 

"Does  that  mean  that  you  are  about  to  propose  to 
me?" 

Again  he  started .   ' '  Why  ? ' ' 

"I  just  learned  that  you  were  engaged  to  Gloria.  I 
wondered  if  two  engagements  a  day  was  your  regular 
allowance." 

The  moonlight  showed  him  a  mischievous  gleam  in 
her  face.  "You  look  demure,  but  I  always  said  there 
was  a  little  devil  in  you,"  he  exclaimed  in  a  wry  but 
pleased  tone  — "a  sharp  little  devil  —  a  nice  clever 
little  devil." 

"The  little  devil  asks  me  to  thank  you.  But  before 
you  go  ahead  and  really  propose  to  me,  I  want  to  con- 
gratulate you  about  Gloria.  I  hope  you  will  both  be  very 
happy." 

"And  I  hope  that  you  and  Gloria  are  going  to  be  very 
good  friends." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 85 

"  I  'm  willing  to  be  friends  with  Gloria.  But  it  all  de- 
pends upon  Gloria.  And  whether  Gloria  wants  to  be 
real  friends,  that  rather  depends  upon  whether  you  make 
it  known  to  Gloria  that  you'd  like  things  that  way." 

"Oh,  I'll  make  that  clear  to  Gloria.  You're  Sue's 
best  friend  —  we  should  all  be  good  friends  —  and 
you  know  I  like  you  a  lot." 

"There'll  not  be  much  chance  of  our  ever  being 
friends  if  we  stay  out  here  any  longer  on  the  first  day  of 
Gloria's  engagement."  She  gently  freed  her  hand.  "I 
think  we'd  better  go  in." 

Inside,  Kenneth  advanced  to  Gloria.  "Jennie  was 
just  congratulating  us,"  he  said.  "I  told  her  that  I 
hoped  that  you  and  she  —  all  of  us  in  fact  —  were  al- 
ways going  to  be  the  best  of  friends." 

Jennie  seemed  frank-eyed,  modest,  waiting  for  Gloria 
to  make  the  advance. 

With  a  control  that  was  attained  with  difficulty  Gloria 
replied : 

"  I  'm  sure  we  shall  be." 

But  later,  alone  on  the  stairway  as  they  went  to  bed, 
she  glowered  furiously  at  Jennie. 

Jennie  inquired  in  a  taunting  whisper: 

"Did  you  order  Mrs.  Harrison  to  invite  me  to 
leave?" 

Choking,  Gloria  hurried  by  her  without  an  answer. 

The  following  evenings  there  was  a  similar  procedure. 
Never  before  had  Jennie  consciously  tried  to  win  the  at- 
tention of  a  man,  and  the  novelty  of  the  experience 
added  piquancy  to  the  more  serious  purposes  which 
were  involved  in  her  plan.  And  it  seemed  to  her  that  she 
was  partially  succeeding;  it  seemed  that  Kenneth  was 
admiring  her  more  and  more. 


186  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

And  then  a  new  element  entered  this  affair.  She  was 
glad  when  Kenneth  came  home  at  the  end  of  the  day, 
she  gladdened  at  the  touch  of  his  hand,  she  was  trem- 
blingly happy  when  swinging  in  his  arms  in  the  dance. 
She  awoke  suddenly  to  this  uncalculated  interest,  and  a 
question  asked  itself  sharply  of  her:  was  this  relation- 
ship, which  she  had  plunged  into  almost  as  a  matter  of 
cold-blooded  business,  was  this  intimacy  begetting  a 
result  she  had  never  dreamed  of?  —  was  she  beginning 
really  to  care? .  .  .  She  did  not  let  herself  answer;  she 
put  the  question  from  her. 

Nevertheless,  this  change  in  her,  whatever  its  nature 
or  degree,  intensified  and  justified  her  intention.  Ken- 
neth was,  indeed,  altogether  too  fine:  any  course  was 
righteous  that  would  save  him. 

After  a  few  days  Jennie  perceived  that  the  course 
she  had  been  following  could  not,  unaided  by  other 
plans,  quickly  end  matters  between  an  engaged  couple 
when  the  girl  had  so  many  substantial  worldly  attri- 
butes as  Gloria.  There  must  be  an  additional  plan.  She 
began  to  consider,  and  her  mind  fixed  upon  one  remark 
Sue  had  made  against  Gloria.  In  this  remark  her  rapidly 
working  mind  saw  the  germ  of  an  idea.  The  idea  grew 
—  it  had  the  potentialities  of  a  big  plan,  an  effective  plan, 
if  she  could  only  put  it  into  execution. 

On  the  following  Sunday  Slim  Jackson  came  out  to 
stay  over  until  Monday.  The  appearance  of  Slim  upon 
the  scene  suggested  a  new  thought  which  fitted  in  with 
her  growing  plan;  and  she  so  maneuvered  that  she  got 
Slim  alone  out  upon  the  end  of  the  stone  pier. 

"What's  the  big  idea,  Jen?"  he  asked. 

"Of  course  you  know  about  Kenneth  and  Gloria 
Raymond?" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  187 

"Sure.  Kenneth  told  me  the  news  as  a  dead  secret 
the  other  day.  What's  the  matter?" 

"His  mother  does  n't  like  the  engagement,  nor  does 
his  sister.  So  I  'm  trying  to  break  it  off." 

"For  their  sakes?"  demanded  Slim  keenly. 

"Yes  —  and  for  my  own."  Almost  unconsciously 
she  dropped  into  the  informal  phraseology  of  the  days 
when  she  and  Slim  had  had  the  Pekin  as  their  habitat. 
"Gloria  and  I  don't  love  each  other,  and  I  'd  like  to  jar 
her  off  her  pedestal.  Also,  if  I  could  manage  to  break 
the  engagement  off,  why,  nothing  else  could  make  me  so 
solid  with  Mrs.  Harrison  —  and  you  know  hardly  any- 
thing can  help  me  so  much  just  now  as  being  solid  with 
Mrs.  Harrison." 

"You're  a  selfish,  calculating,  pretty  little  animal, 
but  the  idea  is  strictly  all  right.  Why  not  step  in  and 
win  him  away  from  her?  I've  been  watching  you  and 
Kenneth.  It's  as  plain  as  four  aces  that  he  already  cares 
a  lot  for  you." 

"I  Ve  been  trying  that;  it's  too  slow  and  uncertain. 
I  Ve  thought  of  a  way  that  will  be  quick  and  sure-fire, 
if  it  can  only  be  put  across.  And  it's  something  you 
might  help  me  in  —  if  you  want  to." 

"You've  got  me  sitting  on  the  edge  of  my  orchestra 
chair  and  holding  my  breath.  What  happens  next?" 

"They  say  Gloria  has  liked  an  awful  lot  of  men  — 
she's  been  engaged  four  times  that  I  know  of  —  and 
her  being  engaged  to  one  man  does  n't  prevent  her  liking 
several  others  at  the  same  time.  That  may  not  be  the 
case  at  the  present  moment,  but,  anyhow,  that's  the 
kind  Gloria  is.  She 's  crazy  about  men  —  always  plural." 

" I  get  you  so  far.  Where  do  I  fit  in?" 

"Here's  my  idea:  If  she's  doing  now  what  she's  done 


188  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

before,  then  while  she's  engaged  to  Kenneth,  she's  also 
privately  flirting  with  some  other  man.  But  telling 
Kenneth  this  will  have  no  effect;  he's  got  to  see  things 
with  his  own  eyes.  If  I  could  find  out  who  the  other 
man  is,  and  if  affairs  could  be  so  handled  that  Kenneth 
could  be  brought  in  upon  a  scene  of  surreptitious  love- 
making  —  that  would  smash  things  right  then  and 
there.  Now,  you  know  a  lot  about  the  smart  and  gay  life 
of  New  York  and  you  know  its  gossip;  you  either  know, 
or  can  find  out,  who  this  second  man  is  —  if  there  is 
such  a  man.  And  you  can  find  out  where  and  how  they 
meet.  That's  where  you  fit  in." 

He  regarded  her  steadily  for  a  long  space.  His  nar- 
row gray  eyes  were  just  now  expressionless  beyond 
showing  keen  thought.  When  he  finally  did  speak,  he 
passed  over  all  she  had  said. 

"Have  you  thought  any  more  about  the  proposition 
I  made  you  on  the  Astor  roof  —  about  our  teaming  up?  " 

"That's  never  going  to  happen,  Slim  —  never,"  she 
answered  impatiently. 

He  lifted  his  shoulders  philosophically.  "I  guess  it's 
up  to  me  to  keep  on  waiting,  Jennie  —  and  I  'm  a  good 
waiter." 

"But  will  you  help  me?"  she  demanded. 

Again  he  regarded  her  thoughtfully  for  a  long  space; 
and  though  he  tried  to  control  his  expression,  he  could 
not  mask  the  air  of  one  who  is  swiftly  looking  far,  far 
ahead,  and  balancing  possibility  against  possibility. 

"Sorry,  Jennie  —  wish  I  could,"  he  at  length  said. 
"But  there's  nothing  I  can  do  —  absolutely  nothing. 
And  there's  no  use  talking  about  it." 

Jennie  was  quite  taken  aback  and  was  bitterly  disap- 
pointed by  this  unexpected  refusal.  But  disconcerted 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 89 

though  she  was,  she  caught  the  glint  of  a  smile  which 
suddenly  broke  through  the  sober  regret  of  Slim's  face. 
For  some  reason  that  smile  awoke  in  her  a  vague  sus- 
picion; but  not  until  long,  long  after  was  she  to  learn 
all  which  lay  behind  that  brief  smile  on  the  pale,  keen 
face  of  Slim  Jackson. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HOW  A  PLAN  WORKED  OUT 

JENNIE  went  quietly  about,  watchful,  thinking, 
planning  — and  planning  all  the  harder  because 
Slim  Jackson,  on  whom  she  had  counted  for  aid,  or 
at  least  for  information,  had  just  declared  himself  un- 
able to  give  her  either.  But  as  the  day  passed,  her  de- 
sign, effective  though  it  had  seemed  on  first  contem- 
plating it,  began  to  seem  tremendously  difficult,  even 
unworkable,  because  of  her  inability  to  get  a  concrete 
starting-point.  And  then  circumstances  very  promptly 
came  to  her  aid,  or  appeared  to,  and  simplified  and 
quickened  what  she  had  thought  would  be  at  the  best 
both  slow  and  complicated. 

That  evening  while  all  were  dancing  —  a  number  of 
young  people  had  motored  over  to  Silver  Bluffs  to  join 
in  this,  a  few  to  stay  over  the  night  —  Jennie  caught  a 
covert  but  significant  glance  pass  between  Gloria  and 
Slim  when  the  two  seemed  to  believe  no  eyes  were  upon 
them.  That  look  fairly  staggered  Jennie.  Was  it  pos- 
sible—  what  she  had  not  even  thought  of  before  — 
that  Slim  himself  was  one  of  the  men  with  whom  Gloria 
had  flirted  as  far  as  a  mere  flirtation  dared  go?  ...  It 
was  indeed  possible!  She  recalled  how  admired,  how 
sought  after  Slim  was  by  the  young  women  of  the 
smarter  and  more  daring  social  set.  And  she  recalled 
Slim's  unwillingness  to  help  her  against  Gloria.  Here 
was  full  explanation  of  that  unwillingness! 

She  watched  them  carefully,  trying  all  the  while  to 
maintain  the  appearance  of  a  young  girl  who  had  noth- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  191 

ing  on  her  mind  but  the  enjoyment  of  a  young  girl's 
pleasure.  Presently  she  saw  Slim  and  Gloria  withdraw 
quietly  from  the  rest  and  go  out  the  front  door.  In  a 
moment  she  had  excused  herself  on  the  plea  of  getting 
a  glass  of  water  for  herself,  passed  into  the  dining-room, 
and  thence  through  a  darkened  side  entrance  out  into 
the  grounds.  She  darted  to  a  corner  of  the  house  and 
peered  around  it.  A  score  of  paces  away  Slim  and  Gloria 
were  strolling  off  into  the  night. 

There  was  a  possibility  that  they  might  be  saying 
something  revelatory :  at  any  rate,  she  had  to  hear.  Her 
only  chance  of  approaching  them  unheard  and  unob- 
served was  to  avoid  the  brick  walks  and  cross  the  lawn; 
but  the  lawn  was  dew-covered,  and  wet  slippers  would 
look  very  suspicious  when  she  returned  to  the  party 
within.  She  drew  off  her  slippers,  and  carrying  them 
she  swiftly  made  her  way  across  the  grass  in  stock- 
inged feet,  dodging  from  the  cover  of  one  dim  bush  or 
clump  of  shrubbery  to  another  —  until  she  saw  the  fig- 
ures pause  in  a  side  path  not  half  a  dozen  yards  away. 

"No  one  can  hear  us  out  here,"  she  heard  Gloria 
remark.  "Quick  —  what  did  you  want?" 

"It's  like  this,  Gloria.  But  listen!  Was  that  some- 
body?" And  Slim  moved  in  Jennie's  direction.  He 
took  but  two  or  three  steps,  then  paused  and  flashed  a 
tiny  electric  torch,  no  larger  than  a  cigarette  case,  full 
upon  the  bush  behind  which  Jennie  was  crouching. 
Jennie  dared  not  move;  she  was  palpitant  with  the 
fear  of  immediate  discovery. 

But  the  tiny  torch  flashed  to  other  bushes.  Then  it 
went  out,  and  Slim  returned  to  Gloria. 

"  Did  you  see  any  one?"  she  whispered. 

"It  was  all  my  imagination." 


192  *A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Quick,  then  —  what  did  you  want  to  tell  me?" 

His  voice  was  the  voice  of  flattering  complaint.  "I 
wanted  to  tell  you  that  you've  been  letting  me  see 
mighty  little  of  you  of  late  —  and  that  I  'm  missing  it 
a  lot  —  and  that  I  think  I  have  a  real  kick  coming." 

"Oh,  you  have  n't  missed  me  so  much.  The  world  's 
full  of  other  women  who  — " 

"But  not  full  of  Glorias!" 

"Besides,  while  I  'm  staying  out  here  at  Silver  Bluffs, 
you  know  there's  no  chance  to  see  each  other." 

"There's  got  to  be  a  chance,  Gloria.  I  want  to  see 
you  simply  because  I  want  to  see  you.  Also  because 
there's  something  I  simply  must  talk  over  with  you  — 
and  I  don't  need  to  say  that  there's  no  time  for  that 
now.  We  'd  be  missed.  But  I  've  got  to  see  you." 

"When,  then  —  and  where  —  and  how?" 

"I  know  Mrs.  Harrison  is  going  to  try  to  close  the 
party  down  at  midnight,  and  everybody  who's  staying 
here  will  be  in  bed  shortly  after  that.  Slip  down  to  the 
library  at  two  • —  to  play  it  safe,  come  at  exactly  two. 
I  '11  be  waiting." 

"But  what  for?"  she  persisted. 

"Well  —  for  that  —  "  And  drawing  her  suddenly  to 
him,  he  kissed  her. 

"Cut  that  out,  Jackson  Holt!"  But  there  was  no 
severe  displeasure  in  her  voice.  "If  that's  all,  I'll 
not  come." 

"But  I  said  I  had  to  talk  to  you,  Gloria —  I  simply 
must." 

There  were  two  or  three  sentences  of  debate,  then 
Jennie  heard  Gloria  say:  "All  right  —  at  two  o'clock, 
then.  Now  we'd  better  get  right  back  to  the  house." 

They  moved  away.  The  moment  action  seemed  safe, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 9  3 

Jennie  scurried  across  the  lawn  to  the  side  of  the  house, 
drew  her  slippers  on  her  dew-soaked  feet,  passed  through 
the  dining-room,  and  rejoined  the  party  just  as  Slim 
and  Gloria  sauntered  in.  Jennie  did  her  best  to  seem 
light-spirited  as  before,  but  all  the  while  she  was  fever- 
ishly thinking  and  planning.  To  her  conglomerate  of 
earlier  motives  she  now  had  added  a  new  motive,  and 
she  was  righteously  indignant.  It  seemed  shameless 
to  her  for  Slim  to  violate  the  Harrisons'  hospitality 
and  Kenneth's  friendship,  and  for  Gloria  to  treat  so 
lightly  the  respect  due  her  hostess  and  her  own  position. 
Of  a  certainty  the  pair  deserved  anything  and  every- 
thing that  might  be  brought  to  befall  them. 

But  how  should  she  handle  this  situation?  She  con- 
sidered the  problem  all  the  evening  while  she  apparently 
had  no  concern  other  than  her  girlish  pleasure;  but  it 
was  not  till  she  was  in  her  room,  after  midnight,  that 
she  could  give  the  situation  her  undivided  mind. 
Plainly  the  thing  to  do  was  so  to  manage  that  the  Har- 
risons, and  most  particularly  Kenneth,  should  be  wit- 
nesses to  that  two  o'clock  rendezvous  in  the  library. 
Just  how  could  that  best  be  brought  about? 

Suddenly  a  hitherto  unperceived  danger  to  herself 
darted  into  her  mind.  If  in  any  way  Slim  should  learn 
of  her  part  in  his  exposure  he  would  be  certain  to  strike 
back  by  telling  all  he  knew  about  her.  A  chill  went 
tingling  through  her.  Did  she  dare  attempt  anything 
at  all?  .  .  . 

Motionless  she  sat  in  the  dark,  drawn  up  in  a  big 
chair,  and  tensely  studied  this  big  problem,  with  its 
new  aspect  of  great  risk  to  herself.  She  heard  her  clock 
strike  one  —  then  heard  the  half-hour  sound.  Gradu- 
ally she  began  to  see  the  plan  as  workable,  and  with 


1 94  ^  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

danger  to  herself  eliminated.  She  must  manage  the 
affair  through  Sue,  she  herself  must  not  in  any  wise 
appear  a  factor  in  the  matter.  And  it  would  be  wise 
not  even  to  tell  Sue  of  her  suspecting  the  pair,  of  her 
following  them,  of  her  eavesdropping;  her  part  must 
be  made  to  seem  simple  and  innocent. 

The  general  plan  decided  on,  the  details  came  in 
flashes.  She  switched  on  the  shaded  light  at  her  writing- 
desk,  and  with  a  letter  of  Gloria's  before  her,  she  set 
about  reproducing  Gloria's  handwriting  on  a  fresh  sheet 
of  Silver  Bluffs  note-paper.  It  came  easy,  for  the  large, 
bold  writing  with  its  sprawling  loops  was  so  obvious 
that  it  offered  no  difficulties  to  the  copyist.  This  was 
the  first  time  Jennie  had  exercised  her  native  gift  as  an 
imitator  of  handwriting  since  the  affair  of  the  Morrison 
check  which  had  brought  her  into  Jefferson  Market 
Court;  she  had  never  a  thought  that  she  was  commit- 
ting forgery,  merely  that  she  was  using  a  safe  device 
to  bring  two  persons  to  justice. 

At  a  quarter  to  two  she  slipped  into  Sue's  room, 
turned  on  the  lights  and  awakened  her. 

"Look  here  —  what's  the  matter?"  demanded  Sue 
with  the  ill-humor  of  a  broken  first-sleep. 

"Hush!  Talk  in  a  whisper,  Sue.  To-night  I  saw  a 
note  slipped  a  man;  I  was  n't  supposed  to  see  it.  But  it 
looked  very  suspicious.  I  saw  him  glance  at  it,  then 
put  it  in  a  pocket.  Afterwards,  when  I  was  dancing 
with  him,  I  saw  that  the  note  had  worked  halfway  out 
of  his  pocket  and  —  I  know  it  was  n't  a  very  honorable 
thing  to  do,  but  I  could  n't  help  myself  —  I  managed  to 
get  the  note  without  his  knowing  what  I  was  about. 
I  Ve  been  sitting  in  my  room  all  this  while  wondering 
what  I  should  do  about  it.  And  I've  finally  decided 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  195 

that  it 's  none  of  my  business,  and  that  I  should  leave  it 
all  to  you." 

"Is  that  the  letter?" 

"Yes  —  but  give  it  back  to  me." 

Sue  took  the  letter,  and  slowly  read  aloud  the  score 
of  words  which  completely  covered  one  page: 

All  right  —  two  o'clock  to-night  in  the  library  —  but 
you've  got  to  be  a  very  good  boy  and  not  smoke. 

Sue  looked  up.  "It's  not  signed,  but  it's  Gloria's 
handwriting!"  she  exclaimed. 

"It  looks  like  it,"  admitted  Jennie. 

"And  it's  not  addressed  —  but  it's  to  a  man!  And 
I  know  it's  not  Kenneth!"  Sue  slipped  out  of  bed. 
"There  are  three  or  four  other  men  here  to-night  — 
which  is  the  one?"  she  demanded. 

"I  don't  want  to  get  mixed  up  in  this  any  further, 
Sue.  That's  for  you  to  find  out." 

"But  how?" 

Jennie  did  not  answer.  She  had  planned  so  care- 
fully that  the  answer  was  obvious. 

"We'll  slip  down  and  surprise  them  —  the  two  of 
us  and  mother  and  Kenneth."  Sue's  eyes  gleamed. 
"Perhaps  Kenneth  may  see  enough  to  wake  him  up!" 

That  was  exactly  as  Jennie  had  calculated.  "But 
let  me  have  the  letter  back,  Sue.  You  don't  need  it." 

"Kenneth  is  skeptical  —  the  letter  may  be  just  the 
thing  to  convince  him  he  ought  to  look  into  this." 

Jennie  disliked  having  the  letter  in  other  hands,  but 
there  was  now  no  avoiding  this.  Sue  got  into  her  dressing 
gown,  switched  out  her  lights,  and  glided  into  the  hall. 

"I'll  get  mother  and  Kenneth  —  we  must  all  be 
mighty  quiet,"  she  whispered.  "You  wait  here." 


1 96  >A  Daughter  of  Two  Wo^di 

She  disappeared.  Minutes  passed.  The  deep-toned 
clock  in  the  great  living-room  below  slowly  sounded 
two.  Then  three  figures  appeared  out  of  the  dark- 
ness. Without  words,  with  utmost  caution,  Kenneth 
leading  the  way  and  Jennie  hanging  well  behind,  they 
crept  down  the  stairway  like  so  many  black  ghosts. 
And  so  on  to  the  door  of  the  library,  where  Kenneth's 
suddenly  stiffened  arm  halted  them. 

They  could  hear  low  voices. 

"I  tell  you  it  was  a  pretty  stiff  jolt,"  complained  a 
voice,  a  man's  voice  whose  owner  Jennie  alone  knew  — 
"your  going  and  getting  engaged  to  Kenneth  Harrison 
just  as  I  was  beginning  to  think  you  cared  for  me." 

"You  surely  did  n't  think  I  was  ever  going  to  become 
engaged  to  you?"  whispered  the  other,  with  mocking 
audacity. 

"Well,  so  long  as  you  were  n't  engaged,  I  had  hopes. 
And  I  liked  it,  being  the  sort  of  friends  we've  been." 

"It  might  as  well  be  Kenneth  as  any  other  man,  as 
far  as  you  are  concerned.  And  as  for  having  been 
friends,  I  suppose  we  can  still  be  friends,  can't  we?" 

"And  see  each  other?"  The  whisper  was  eager. 
"Now  and  then  when  it's  safe,  I  mean?" 

"  Well,  you  're  seeing  me  now,  are  n't  you?  " 

"Gloria!"  breathed  the  man's  voice. 

There  followed  silence,  which  each  of  the  rigid  forms 
at  the  doorway  filled  with  a  mental  picture  which  was 
more  or  less  similar.  Then  Kenneth  reached  for  the 
electric  switch  and  the  room  instantly  became  as  bril- 
liant as  day.  On  a  deep  leathern  couch  sat  Gloria  in  the 
yellow  gown  which  she  had  been  wearing  earlier  in  the 
evening,  and  beside  her  sat  Slim  Jackson.  Slim's  arm 
was  about  her,  and  her  head  was  upon  the  shoulder  of 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  197 

his  evening  coat.  The  pair  started,  blinked  for  an 
instant,  then  sprang  up. 

For  the  briefest  moment  there  was  a  tableau :  the  pair 
in  their  party  clothes,  and  the  quartette  in  dressing- 
gowns,  staring  at  each  other.  Then  Kenneth  stepped 
forward,  pale  with  fury.  Jennie  was  relieved  to  see 
that  he  was  unarmed;  she  had  feared  he  might  have 
come  down  with  the  conventional  pistol  of  the  insulted 
male. 

"Jackson  Holt,  you're  a  damned  sneak!"  he  blazed 
in  a  voice  of  controlled  fury.  "You've  got  your  car 
here.  Five  minutes  is  enough  to  get  your  things  to- 
gether. In  five  minutes  I  expect  you  and  your  car  to 
be  leaving!" 

Slim  Jackson  attempted  no  reply.  He  merely  made 
a  slight  bow  of  acquiescence  —  but  even  then  his  bow 
was  one  of  rare  grace. 

"And,  Gloria  Raymond"  —  Mrs.  Harrison  had 
stepped  forward  and  was  speaking  now,  her  kindly 
face  stern  with  outraged  indignation  —  "I  am  ashamed 
that  even  for  a  week  I  had  to  think  of  you  as  my 
daughter-in-law!  You  are  without  honor,  or  decency, 
or  shame!  Your  breakfast  will  be  served  you  in  your 
room;  a  car  will  be  at  the  door  waiting  for  you;  you 
will  take  the  earliest  train  away  from  here  that  you  can 
make.  And  neither  I  nor  any  member  of  my  family 
ever  wish  to  see  you  or  speak  to  you  again!" 

Gloria  had  at  first  been  half-stunned  by  the  impact 
of  this  unexpected  scene.  But  now  her  head  was  up 
and  she  regarded  them  all  with  a  sneering,  almost 
imperial  defiance.  There  was  one  thing  to  be  said  for 
Gloria  —  she  was  not  easily  downed. 

"All  right,  I  '11  be  ready  for  the  car  —  and  you  can't 


1 98  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

make  it  too  early  to  suit  me,"  she  drawled.  "I  guess 
what's  happened  is  the  best  thing  that  could  have 
happened  for  me,"  she  added  coolly;  "it's  kept  me 
from  being  tied  up  with  a  second-rate  family.  And 
besides,  it  would  n't  have  been  exactly  pleasant,  hav- 
ing round  me  a  bunch  of  spies." 

This  time  it  was  Sue  who  stepped  forward.  And  Sue 
was  angry. 

"Spies!"  she  cried.    "Who  do  you  mean?" 

"Your  mother  and  your  brother.  They've  evidently 
been  snooping  around  and  watching  me." 

"That's  a  lie,  Gloria  Raymond!"  blazed  Sue,  who 
had  lost  herself  in  righteous  and  scornful  anger.  "They 
have  not  been  snooping  around!  Neither  of  them  had 
the  least  suspicion  of  this  until  ten  minutes  ago." 

"Then  how  did  they  find  out?" 

"I  told  them  —  that's  how!" 

"So,  then  —  you're  the  sneaking  little  spy  that's 
been  snooping  around  watching  me!" 

"  I  am  not!   I  have  n't  spied  on  you  for  a  minute!" 

"No?"  Gloria's  voice  was  insultingly  skeptical. 
"Then  how  did  you  learn?" 

"Through  that ! "  And  Sue  held  out  the  letter  Jennie 
had  given  her. 

"Don't,  Sue  —  don't!"  gasped  Jennie  in  dismay. 

But  she  was  too  late.  The  scene  was  moving  too 
swiftly  for  her  to  halt  it.  In  fact,  Sue  did  not  even  hear 
her  frantic  cry. 

"That's  your  handwriting,  is  n't  it?"  Sue  demanded. 

"Looks  like  it,"  Gloria  coolly  answered. 

"Then  there  you  are!"  Sue  cried  triumphantly. 
"In  this  note  you  make  this  very  appointment  with 
Jackson  Holt!" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  1 99 

Gloria  seized  the  letter  and  glanced  it  through.  "I 
never  wrote  that!"  she  exclaimed. 

"Oh,  of  course  not!"  taunted  Sue. 

"Did  you  ever  receive  that  letter?  —  did  you  ever 
see  it  before?"  demanded  Gloria,  handing  it  to  Slim. 

Jennie,  very  dazed,  was  palpitant  with  fear  of  what 
this  unexpected  twist  in  the  affair  might  be  leading  to. 
Slim  glanced  at  the  letter,  then  handed  it  back. 

"No,  I  never  saw  it  before." 

None  of  the  three  Harrisons  spoke.  They  had  be- 
lieved Gloria  had  lied,  and  they  now  believed  that  Slim 
was  lying  to  support  her. 

"That's  nothing  but  a  forgery,  Sue  Harrison," 
declared  Gloria;  "a  bit  of  cheap  work  on  your  part!" 

"It's  not  a  forgery,  and  I  did  n't  do  it!"  cried  the 
wrathful  Sue. 

"No!  Then  where  did  you  get  it?" 

"Sue!"  besought  Jennie  in  a  very  sick  whisper. 

But  Sue  was  utterly  in  the  control  of  her  wrathful 
disbelief.  "Jennie  Miller  saw  it  slipped  to  some  man," 
Sue  rushed  on.  "She  suspected  something  wrong,  and 
when  a  little  later  she  danced  with  the  man  she  man- 
aged to  get  the  note  out  of  his  pocket.  Not  twenty 
minutes  ago  she  brought  the  note  to  me  —  she  did  n't 
know  what  to  do  with  it.  She  did  n't  tell  me  who  the 
man  was,  and  we  did  n't  know  who  he  was  till  Kenneth 
turned  on  the  lights.  There  you  are  —  that 's  how  I  got 
the  letter!" 

Gloria  wheeled  about  on  Jennie.  "So  —  here's 
where  Jennie  Miller  comes  into  the  picture!"  she  blazed 
at  her. 

But  Jennie,  for  that  instant,  was  not  even  conscious 
of  Gloria's  existence.  Her  eyes  were  fastened  in  feverish 


soo  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

fear  and  suspense  upon  Slim  Jackson.  She  knew  it  was 
Slim's  nature  to  strike  back.  Tensely  she  awaited  his 
denunciation :  her  parentage  —  the  low  places  where  she 
had  lived  and  whence  she  had  come  —  her  arrest,  her 
being  even  now  a  fugitive  with  bond  forfeited.  She  was 
prepared  to  have  the  amazed  Harrisons  turn  upon  her; 
she  was  prepared  to  be  ordered  out  of  the  house  even  as 
Slim  and  Gloria  —  and  particularly  did  she  feel  in 
anticipation  the  amazement,  the  coldness,  that  would 
come  into  Kenneth's  face. 

Slim's  eyes  were  steadily  upon  her;  she  could  not 
loosen  her  gaze  from  his.  Minutes  went  by,  so  it  seemed 
to  her,  though  in  reality  hardly  any  time  at  all  had 
passed  —  and  Slim  said  nothing  at  all. 

That  bewildered  her  yet  more.  Why  did  Slim  not 
denounce  her? 

Dimly  she  heard  Gloria  speak  to  him.  "This  letter 
was  never  in  your  possession,  was  it?" 

"It  was  not,"  he  replied. 

"Denial  is  of  no  use,"  spoke  up  Mrs.  Harrison  in  the 
crisp,  cold  voice  of  finality.  "The  fact  that  we  found 
you  here  proves  the  letter's  authenticity.  Anyhow,  the 
only  point  of  importance  is  our  finding  you  here.  There 
is  no  more  to  be  said.  We  wish  you  both  good-bye." 

Slim,  bowing  slightly,  started  out  first.  Jennie  had 
shrunk  back  a  couple  of  yards  behind  the  Harrisons,  and 
was  last  in  the  line  —  in  fact  she  was  altogether  through 
the  doorway  and  in  the  big  living-room.  As  Slim  drew 
near  her,  she  was  sure  the  expected  would  happen ;  but 
Slim  merely  gave  her  a  separate  bow  and  passed  on. 

She  could  not  understand ! 

The  next  instant  Gloria  was  coming  through.  She 
halted  squarely  before  Jennie,  and  glared  at  her. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  201 

"You  were  behind  all  this,  Jennie  Miller,"  she 
breathed  furiously.  "It  may  be  a  long  time  coming, 
but  I  '11  get  even  —  you  wait  and  see!" 

Jennie  felt  no  fear  because  of  Gloria,  and  since  the 
Harrisons  were  following  close,  her  answer  was  quiet  and 
without  acrimony.  "Very  well,  Gloria —  I'll  wait." 

Gloria  swept  by  and  up  the  stairway.  Kenneth,  his 
face  pale  and  set,  passed  Jennie  without  a  word  and  dis- 
appeared. But  her  heart  leaped.  Kenneth  was  saved. 

Mrs.  Harrison  slipped  her  arms  around  Jennie  and 
drew  her  down  upon  a  couch,  and  Sue,  on  Jennie's  other 
side,  also  put  a  tight  arm  about  her. 

"Jennie,  we  simply  cannot  thank  you  too  much!" 
breathed  Mrs.  Harrison  in  a  quavering  voice,  tears  upon 
her  cheeks.  "You've  saved  us  all  from  a  terrible  calam- 
ity —  and  especially  have  you  saved  Kenneth  from  a 
ruined  life.  The  only  way  Kenneth  could  have  been 
made  to  believe  what  we  all  suspected  was  by  having 
the  thing  shown  before  his  own  eyes  —  and  to  you  is  the 
entire  credit  for  his  being  shown.  My  dear,  I  liked  you 
before  —  but  now  I  feel  that  I  owe  you  everything! 
Everything!" 

There  were  more  of  such  warm  words  from  the  soul, 
both  from  Mrs.  Harrison  and  from  Sue.  For  the  time 
Jennie  forgot  the  strangeness  of  Slim's  behavior,  and 
Gloria  simply  did  not  exist.  She  was  thrilled  with 
triumph  —  triumph  that  swelled  within  her  and  swept 
her  dizzily  aloft.  She  had  won  —  and  won  in  every 
detail !  And  behind  her  exultant  triumph  was  the  sub- 
conscious knowledge  that  whatever  her  means,  and 
however  much  triumph  might  benefit  her  personally, 
she  had  triumphed  in  a  righteous  cause. 

She  was  still  exalted  when  she  entered  her  room.  She 


202  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

switched  on  her  light  and  made  for  her  bed.  Then  she 
suddenly  stopped  short,  for  pinned  to  her  pillow  was  a 
folded  piece  of  paper. 

Her  exultation  was  suddenly  stilled,  and  wondering 
she  unfastened  the  paper  and  unfolded  it.  It  was  a  sheet 
of  the  heavy  Silver  Bluffs  note-paper,  and  on  it  was  writ- 
ten in  pencil : 

I'll  be  waiting  for  you  on  the  drive  just  inside  the  en- 
trance to  the  grounds.    Come  as  soon  as  it's  safe. 
P.S.    This  is  no  forgery. 

There  was  no  signature,  but  she  instantly  knew  the 
handwriting  to  be  Slim  Jackson's.  What  could  Slim 
want?  And  again  came  the  question  which  had  puzzled 
her  a  little  while  before :  Why  had  Slim  not  denounced 
her  when  she  had  exposed  him? 

But  as  she  stood  looking  at  the  penciled  lines  and 
wondering,  a  relationship  dawned  upon  her  that  she  had 
never  before  realized :  When  Slim  Jackson  called,  she  had 
to  come. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A  MEETING  IN  THE  NIGHT 

WHAT  could  Slim  want  with  her  out  there  upon 
the  drive?  Undoubtedly  to  wreak  upon  her,  in 
the  dark,  alone,  the  retaliation  which  he  had 
so  strangely  withheld  a  few  minutes  since  in  the  library. 
And  what  form  would  Slim's  retaliation  take?  —  Slim 
the  graceful,  the  polished,  the  cynical,  and  (as  she  now 
shiveringly  remembered)  the  swiftly  relentless? 

But  whatever  unguessable  thing  he  might  do  to  her, 
Jennie  knew  she  dared  not  disobey  that  summons.  She 
dressed,  and  making  sure  that  the  house  was  again 
quiet,  she  slipped  downstairs  and  out  upon  the  drive. 
The  sky  had  clouded  over;  the  night  had  grown  so  dark 
that  it  was  like  a  black  bandage  upon  the  eyes.  She 
would  have  been  lost  had  she  not  known  the  grounds. 
She  crossed  to  the  grassy  border  of  the  drive,  and  be- 
neath the  great  elms  which  she  could  not  see,  but  which 
she  knew  arched  interlacingly  above  her,  she  crept  si- 
lently toward  the  place  Slim  had  appointed. 

She  had  reached  it  and  had  stood  there  several  mo- 
ments, striving  to  mute  her  breath,  before  she  disinterred 
from  the  general  gloom  the  faint  outlines  of  a  long,  low 
object.  Slim's  car  she  judged  it  to  be.  As  she  started 
toward  it,  her  feet  scraping  upon  the  blue-stone  of  the 
drive,  a  hushed  voice  spoke  out. 

"Jennie?" 

' '  Yes , "  she  whispered . 

"Come  to  the  front  of  the  car.  I'm  alone,  in  the 
driver's  seat.  There  you  are.  Now,  give  me  your  hand." 


2O4  *A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Jennie  regarded  with  fear  the  dim  shoulders  and  head. 
"What  for?" 

"Give  me  your  hand." 

The  voice  was  pleasant,  velvety.  But  Slim's  tone,  no 
more  than  his  smile,  was  never  an  indication  of  his  pur- 
pose. Yet  she  dared  not  refuse. 

His  hand  closed  upon  hers  and  he  drew  her  to  the 
running-board  of  the  car.  "  I  simply  could  n't  go  away, 
Jennie,"  said  the  pleasant  voice,  "without  congratu- 
lating you  on  the  clever  game  you  put  across." 

She  was  afraid  of  him,  but  she  could  not  stand  the 
suspense.  "Come  to  the  point,  Slim,"  she  said  sharply. 
"What  are  you  going  to  do  to  me?  To  congratulate 
me  was  not  what  you  got  me  out  here  for." 

"Perhaps  not."  There  came  a  soft  laugh.  "Let 's  put 
it  another  way,  then :  let 's  say  I  could  n't  leave  until 
we  had  congratulated  each  other  on  the  clever  game  we 
both  put  across." 

"We  both  put  across?"  she  exclaimed. 

"Of  course.  You're  smart,  Jennie,  but  you  surely 
don't  think  you  could  put  anything  of  that  sort  over  on 
me  —  unless  I  really  wanted  you  to." 

"Why  —  why  —  "  She  was  too  taken  aback  to  speak. 

He  laughed  at  her  dumbfoundment ;  though  low,  it 
was  a  laugh  of  very  real  and  exultant  amusement. 

"You  don't  quite  get  it,  do  you,  Jen  —  and  you  don't 
believe  me.  Well,  for  a  starter,  just  listen  to  this.  When 
I  went  out  on  the  lawn  with  Gloria  this  evening  I  was 
certain  you  would  follow.  And  when  I  pulled  that  flash 
and  turned  it  on  the  bushes,  it  was  to  make  certain  that 
you  were  among  those  present  and  had  an  orchestra 
chair,  where  you  would  n't  miss  a  line  of  the  dialogue. 
Of  course  I  told  Gloria  there  was  nobody."  He  chuckled 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  205 

with  self-delight.  "But  stooped  low  behind  a  bush  I  had 
seen  Miss  Jennie  Miller  Malone,  holding  a  pair  of  silver 
slippers." 

"Slim  Jackson!"  she  breathed. 

"Now,  was  I  sitting  in  the  game  all  the  while,  with  a 
big  stack  of  chips,  or  was  n't  I?"  he  demanded  with  his 
chuckle. 

Everything  was  whirling  to  her ;  she  had  as  yet  but  a 
faint  glimmering  of  what  must  have  been  the  truth. 

"  If  you  knew  —  if  you  were  in  it  —  why  did  n't  you 
tell  me  when  I  first  spoke  to  you  about  Gloria?" 

Again  came  his  soft  chuckle  of  self-delight.  "  I 
thought  of  that,  Jennie.  But  I  decided  I  could  n't  trust 
you.  I  was  afraid  you  might  have  got  some  new-fangled 
notion  that  would  make  you  balk  at  the  idea  that  came 
to  me.  I  saw  that  the  only  sure  way  to  get  you  to  act 
and  to  put  the  thing  across  was  to  make  you  think  you 
were  discovering  something  and  that  it  was  all  on  the 
level  —  never  to  let  you  suspect,  until  the  thing  was 
done,  that  it  was  all  a  little  frame-up." 

"A  frame-up?"  breathed  Jennie. 

"It  was,  and  it  wasn't,"  answered  Slim's  amused 
voice.  "I'd  done  that  sort  of  thing  with  Gloria  before. 
I  just  did  it  again,  for  your  especial  benefit,  making  sure 
that  you  would  be  suspicious  and  would  watch — and 
being  dead  sure  just  how  you  would  act.  And  it  worked 
almost  exactly  as  I  figured!" 

"And  Gloria  —  did  she  know  it  was  a  frame-up?" 

"No.   It  was  all  just  as  real  to  her  as  it  was  to  you." 

" But  —  but  why  did  you  do  it?" 

He  pressed  the  hand  he  still  held.  "For  your  sake, 
my  child.  I  saw  that  what  you  said  was  true:  that  if 
you  could  break  off  matters  between  Gloria  and  Ken- 


206  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

neth,  it  would  be  a  big  boost  for  you  with  Mrs.  Harri- 
son. And  I  wanted  you  to  have  that  big  boost.  Honest!" 

"And  was  that  your  only  reason?"  she  demanded 
sharply. 

"  Is  n't  that  enough  for  little  old  Slim  Jackson?  The 
higher  an  old  friend  goes,  the  better  it  is  for  me —  is  n't 
that  so?"  He  laughed  once  more.  "Oh,  I'm  not  going 
to  lie  to  you,  Jennie.  I  had  other  reasons,  but  I  'm  not 
going  to  tell  you  —  not  now.  Same  as  with  to-night's 
little  affair,  I  think  it 's  wisest  not  to  tell  you  what 's  do- 
ing until  after  it 's  done.  Yes,  I  had  other  reasons  — 
big  reasons  —  and  you'll  know  when  the  time  comes." 

She  was  still  bewildered.  "But  Kenneth  thinks  you 
have  betrayed  him.  You  have  thrown  away  his  friend- 
ship." 

"Kenneth  feels  sore  at  me  now.  But  a  little  later 
he  '11  care  less  for  Gloria  and  will  be  glad  he  escaped  her 

—  and  it  '11  get  to  him  that  I  did  what  I  did  with  the  chief 
idea  of  saving  him  —  and  he  '11  like  me  better  than  ever. 
You  just  watch  —  that's  the  way  it's  going  to  work 
out!" 

"And  Gloria?" 

"We  need  n't  waste  any  good  worry  on  Gloria.  To- 
night'11  never  be  talked  about,  and  it'll  not  hurt  her 
any.  That  girl  simply  can't  help  making  men  make  love 
to  her  —  and  that  same  goes  for  a  lot  of  these  young 
society  dames.  They  don't  care  a  lot  for  any  one  man 

—  but  eacfr  one  wants  a  bunch  of  men  making  love  to 
her.  They  like  it  —  it  flatters  'em  —  they  're  man-crazy 

—  and  each  man 's  a  sort  of  souvenir.  I  guess  I  ought  to 
know!  ...  As  for  Gloria,  to-night '11  not  hurt  me  a  bit 
with  her.  She  just  thinks  we  were  both  caught  together. 
Gloria  and  I'll  be  just  as  good  friends  as  ever." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  207 

Jennie  was  so  dazed  with  this  sudden  behind-the- 
scenes  view  of  what  she  had  considered  to  be  wholly  her 
own  righteous  plan,  so  bewildered  with  Slim's  jocular 
and  cynical  self-appreciation,  that  she  stood  there  be- 
side the  car  utterly  without  words. 

"And  I  say,  Jen,"  the  light  voice  went  on,  "that  let- 
ter was  a  swell  forgery.  You  certainly  are  still  all  right 
with  the  pen!  That  little  knack  will  come  in  useful 
some  day  —  you  see!"  He  laughed  softly  once  more. 
"That's  all  I  wanted  to  see  you  about,  Jen  —  I  just 
wanted  you  to  know  that  I  was  sitting  in  this  game  with 
you.  And,  Jennie  —  remember  my  saying  four  years 
ago  down  at  the  Pekin,  that  we  were  going  to  put  a  lot 
of  things  across  together  —  you  and  I  ?  As  yet  you  don't 
see  how  big  this  stunt  to-night  really  is,  and  is  going 
to  be.  And  to-night's  stunt  is  only  the  beginning  for  us 
two,  Jennie  —  only  a  bare  starter!  Good-luck,  Jen  — 
and  good-bye!" 

Almost  noiselessly  his  low  car  moved  forward  into  the 
engulfing  blackness.  She  stood  motionless  for  a  space, 
his  chuckle  of  cynical  delight  and  self-satisfaction  still 
sounding  in  her  ears.  Then  she  crept  back  into  the 
house  and  into  her  bed.  All  the  exulting  triumph  which 
had  swelled  within  her  only  a  brief  half-hour  before, 
when  Mrs.  Harrison  had  taken  her  so  warmly  into  her 
arms  and  had  so  praised  her  with  words  from  a  sponta- 
neous heart  —  that  was  all  gone.  The  glory  had  de- 
parted from  her  achievement;  and  huddled  in  her  bed, 
she  felt  humiliated,  and  very  small,  and  very  sick.  .  .  . 

Also,  that  night,  for  the  first  time  in  her  life,  she  felt 
afraid  of  Slim  Jackson. 

\Yhen  she  came  down  the  next  morning  Gloria  had 
already  departed,  and  no  mention  was  made  of  her 


so8  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

name.  Kenneth  had  also  gone;  and  when  Mr.  Harrison 
came  home  that  evening,  he  brought  word  that  Ken- 
neth had  left  for  the  West,  to  be  gone  an  indefinite  time. 
The  explanation  made  at  the  table  was  that  his  purpose 
was  to  examine  some  mining  properties  in  which  Har- 
rison and  Company  thought  of  acquiring  an  interest; 
but  every  one  knew  that  Kenneth  had  gone  for  quite 
another  reason. 

Mrs.  Harrison's  gratitude  and  her  frank  affection, 
spoken  most  warmly  that  morning  and  thereafter  ex- 
pressed in  some  way  every  time  they  met,  Jennie  in- 
wardly shrank  from  —  as  she  also  did  from  the  sponta- 
neous outbursts  of  Sue.  A  sense  of  guilt  rested  heavily 
upon  her ;  she  felt  that  she  deserved  none  of  this.  Some- 
how Slim  seemed,  as  if  by  those  adroit  hands  of  his,  to 
have  snatched  away  all  the  genuineness,  the  sincerity, 
that  had  been  in  the  act  which  they  were  ever  declaring 
had  saved  them  all  from  misfortune.  And  yet  Jennie  dared 
refuse  or  avoid  none  of  their  gratitude  and  none  of  their 
affection.  To  have  refused  would  have  created  surprise, 
would  have  required  explanation  —  and  explanation 
might  lead  somehow  to  exposure.  There  was  nothing 
for  it  but  to  accept  the  situation. 

And  after  all,  there  was  this  much  that  Slim  could 
not  take  away  from  her :  she  had  acted  in  the  full  belief 
that  the  two  o'clock  tryst  in  the  library  between  Slim 
and  Gloria  had  been  bonafide  on  both  sides  —  and  if  she 
had  not  originated  this  plan  and  carried  it  out,  the  Har- 
risons and  Kenneth  would  not  now  be  free  of  an  unfor- 
tunate relationship.  So  much  was  real  and  unsubtract- 
able  —  and  therefore,  since  everything  had  grown 
out  of  this,  was  this  not  in  consequence  almost  every- 
thing? .  .  . 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  209 

She  thought  frequently  of  Kenneth.  Was  he,  out 
there  in  the  solitude  of  the  West  where  he  had  gone  to 
conceal  his  hurt,  recovering  from  his  heart-break  and 
disillusionment?  She  hoped  so,  for  he  was  deserving  of  a 
far  finer  girl  than  Gloria  —  of  the  very  finest  girl !  She 
wondered  what  was  happening  to  him,  and  within  him, 
away  out  there,  all  alone.  .  .  . 

As  the  June  days  passed,  her  humiliation  lost  its 
first  keen  edge,  and  she  accepted  matters  as  they  were 
with  a  growing  composure.  The  days  were  much  alike, 
given  over  to  bathing,  going  to  teas,  motoring  about,  or 
merely  quiet  chats  with  Mrs.  Harrison ;  and  of  evenings 
there  was  frequent  dancing  in  neighboring  houses. 
With  this  pleasant  summer  routine  she  developed  rap- 
idly. 

Her  unchanging  appearance  of  modesty  made  Mrs. 
Harrison  believe  her  unspoilable,  so  the  generous  elder 
woman  never  withheld  her  praise.  One  afternoon  when 
Jennie  had  been  at  Silver  Bluffs  over  a  month,  and  she 
and  Mrs.  Harrison  were  standing  upon  the  piazza 
gazing  out  at  the  blazing  Sound,  Mrs.  Harrison  impul- 
sively crossed  to  Jennie  and  kissed  her. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Jennie. 

"I  could  n't  help  it  —  I  just  got  to  looking  at  you." 

"Looking  at  me?" 

"Yes.  And  I  was  saying  to  myself,"  the  low-pitched 
voice  went  on,  "  'She  was  beautiful  when  she  first  came 
to  us,  but  she  is  growing  more  beautiful  every  day!' 
And  that  is  true,  my  dear." 

Jennie  grew  warm  with  an  uprush  of  exultant  happi- 
ness. This  was  a  wonderful  world  she  had  come  into  — 
a  wonderful  world  indeed!  And,  just  then,  her  nearing 
place  in  this  world  seemed  as  glorious  as  the  sunset  that 


210  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

was  besparkling  the  waters  —  only  for  her  the  glory  was 
the  glory  of  sunrise,  and  the  dazzling  brilliance  of  full 
day  was  yet  to  come. 

But  even  while  they  stood  there,  Jennie's  other  world 
reached  out  to  her  a  beckoning  hand. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  OLD  WORLD  AND  THE  NEW 

THE  beckoning  hand  took  the  form  of  a  tele- 

tgram  carried  out  to  her  by  a  maid.  The  message 
bore  the  signature  of  the  lawyers  who  managed 
her  affairs,  and  its  ten  words,  to  any  other  eyes  than 
Jennie's,  would  have  meant  nothing  more  than  that  her 
lawyers  required  her  presence  that  evening  upon  a 
matter  of  immediate  business.  But  the  telegram  was  a 
code,  prearranged  for  use  in  case  of  extreme  necessity. 
To  Jennie  the  routine  telegram  meant  that  Uncle  George 
wished  to  see  her  without  delay. 

She  showed  the  message  to  Mrs.  Harrison,  and  two 
hours  later  she  was  in  the  sitting-room  of  a  suite  in  that 
great  hotel-city,  the  Biltmore,  in  whose  multitudinous 
bustle  persons  could  come  and  go  unnoticed,  and  she  was 
shaking  the  hand  of  Uncle  George. 

"You  sure  are  looking  great,  Jennie!"  exclaimed  the 
old  man.  "You  sure  are  looking  the  real  goods  — 
better  even  than  I  ever  thought  you  would!" 

Despite  his  words  of  admiration  and  approval,  there 
was  a  soberness  in  his  wrinkled  face  that  would  have 
excited  Jennie's  alarm  even  had  the  telegram  not  al- 
ready done  so. 

"What's  the  matter,  Uncle  George?"  she  demanded. 

"It's  bad  news,  my  dear"  —  patting  her  hand  — 
"but  take  it  easy.  It's  what  happens  to  us  all,  and  I 
guess  some  day  it'll  be  my  turn." 

" Is  it  —  something  —  about  dad?"  she  breathed. 


212  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

He  shook  his  head.  "It's  about  your  Aunt  Mary. 
She  died  last  night." 

"Aunt  Mary  —  dead ! "  Jennie  stood  dazed ;  never  be- 
fore had  death  touched  her  closely. 

"Her  funeral's  to-morrow  morning  at  eleven.  Black 
Jerry  asked  me  to  see  you  and  tell  you.  He  was  afraid 
you  might  learn  of  it  some  other  way,  and  he  was  afraid 
you  might  be  impulsive  and  forget  everything  else  and 
come  rushing  down  to  the  funeral  where  there  may  be  a 
bunch  of  people.  That 's  why  Jerry  asked  me  to  see  you ; 
that's  what  Jerry  gave  strict  orders  about  —  you  are 
not  to  come  to  the  funeral." 

"Aunt  Mary  —  dead!"  she  repeated. 

"You'll  do  like  Jerry  said  and  not  come  to  the  fu- 
neral?" the  old  man  insisted. 

" I'll  not  come  —  if  dad  says  so,"  she  returned. 

But  back  at  Silver  Bluffs  she  kept  to  herself,  and  most 
of  that  night  she  lay  awake.  Her  mind  went  back  and 
went  over  and  over  all  the  acts  of  unselfish  kindness,  of 
constant  thoughtfulness,  of  her  patient  Aunt  Mary  who 
had  mothered  her  through  nigh  a  dozen  years  —  and  she 
could  see  the  white,  worn  face,  the  frail  figure,  now  lying 
rigid  in  eternal  silence  in  the  little  sitting-room  above 
the  Pekin.  She  recalled  her  own  impatience,  her  selfish- 
ness, the  advantage  she  so  often  had  taken  of  her  none- 
too-clever  aunt.  Hot  tears  trickled  down  her  cheeks; 
her  soul  throbbed  with  a  quivering  pain  that  was  a  sense 
of  loss,  of  yearning,  that  was  the  call  of  blood  to  blood. 
And  so  it  was  during  most  of  the  night. 

The  next  morning  she  had  made  a  decision.  She 
was  going  to  slip  back  for  a  glimpse  of  her  o\vn  people. 
She  had  to !  —  no  matter  what  happened.  And  her  plan 
for  securing  this  glimpse  was  based  upon  her  remem- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  2 1 3 

brance  that,  however  largely  attended  a  funeral  in  her 
neighborhood  might  be,  usually  only  a  single  carriage 
followed  the  hearse  on  the  far  and  expensive  journey  to 
the  outskirts  of  Brooklyn  where  are  colonized  the  city's 
dead. 

She  dressed  herself  in  a  dark,  unpretentious  suit,  and 
told  Mrs.  Harrison  that  she  was  obliged  to  go  into  New 
York  for  a  further  conference  with  her  lawyers.  At 
half-past  ten,  in  a  big  department  store,  she  was  buying 
the  thickest  mourning  veil,  and  a  few  minutes  later,  the 
veil  on  and  lowered,  at  another  doorway  from  the  one  at 
which  she  had  entered,  she  chartered  a  taxi  and  stepped 
in.  The  car  stopped  as  ordered  a  block  away  from,  but 
in  full  sight  of,  the  Pekin ;  and  the  curtains  drawn,  Jennie 
sat  peering  at  the  front  of  her  old  home.  Her  heart  beat 
wildly;  she  was  back  once  more  among  her  old  folk,  in 
her  old  country.  It  all  seemed  so  close  to  her  —  yet  so 
far,  far  away ! 

Jennie  jhad  calculated  time  and  procedure  almost 
exactly.  Her  taxi  had  been  waiting  at  the  curb  only  a 
few  minutes  when  she  saw  solemn,  straggling  little 
groups  come  out  of  the  doorway  —  and  then  she  saw 
the  coffin  borne  out  and  placed  in  the  motor-hearse  — 
and  then  she  saw  her  father  come  out  and,  refusing  the 
company  of  Uncle  George,  enter  a  solitary  taxicab.  Pur- 
suant to  her  directions  her  own  car  followed  this  cortege 
of  a  hearse  and  a  single  carriage  at  a  block's  distance  — 
uptown  through  East  Side  streets  —  across  the  high- 
swung  Queensborough  Bridge  —  and  then  at  thirty 
miles  an  hour  (for  New  York  motor-hearses  must  earn 
their  keep  and  so  have  no  time  to  waste)  over  Long 
Island  macadam.  Arrived  at  the  graveyard  and  the 
open  grave,  the  motor-hearse  quickly  discharged  its 


214  "4  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

black  freight  and  then  sped  away  on  its  next  errand  of 
expressage. 

Jennie,  glancing  about,  saw  a  score  or  more  of  little 
groups  scattered  among  the  slabs  of  marble.  She  had 
the  sense  that  here  the  burying  of  the  dead  was  just  a 
great  business  —  so  many  funerals  to  be  disposed  of 
per  hour;  that  the  graveyard  was  just  a  great  freightage 
receiving-office,  where  human  beings  were  trans-shipped 
from  the  present  to  whatever  points  might  lie  beyond. 

With  so  much  routine  business  going  on,  only  the 
day's-work  attention  was  given  to  this  last  scene  in  the 
mortal  drama  of  Mary  Graham,  spinster.  As  soon  as 
Jennie  was  certain  that  no  one  was  beside  her  aunt's 
grave  except  a  swiftly  working  stage  crew  and  her  father, 
she  slipped  from  her  taxi  to  the  edge  of  the  grave.  She 
saw  her  father  glance  at  her,  and  she  was  quite  certain 
he  recognized  her  despite  the  disguise  of  the  heavy  veil. 
But  he  gave  no  sign,  and  turned  back  to  the  grave.  Thus, 
silent,  side  by  side,  they  stood  watching  the  moist, 
yellow  clay  pour  from  deft  shovels  down  upon  the  dead : 
Black  Jerry,  his  derby  pulled  down  tightly,  his  square 
face  set  and  emotionless  —  and  Jennie,  behind  her  veil, 
crying  all  the  while:  and  thus  they  remained,  apart,  un- 
speaking,  until  the  workmen  had  slapped  the  earth 
into  a  shapely  mound,  and  had  swung  along  to  their 
next  task. 

Black  Jerry  turned  abruptly  away  toward  his  taxi- 
cab.  Silently  Jennie  slipped  a  hand  through  his  arm, 
and  walked  beside  him.  Even  then  he  gave  no  sign  of 
recognizing  her  presence.  Arrived  at  her  taxi,  she  whis- 
pered, "You're  coming  with  me."  He  hesitated,  then, 
settling  with  the  chauffeur  of  his  own  taxi,  he  stepped 
into  Jennie's  car.  Her  fingers  clutched  his  big  hand 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  215 

tightly  and  she  drew  up  her  heavy  veil ;  but  despite  the 
privacy  he  sat  gazing  straight  ahead,  his  heavy  jaw 
clenched,  his  eyes  hardly  winking.  Jennie  was  suddenly 
bereft  of  the  power  to  open  conversation ;  the  old  habit 
of  childhood  returned  to  her,  not  to  speak  to  her  reti- 
cent father  until  he  had  first  spoken. 

It  seemed  to  Jennie  that  they  had  gone  miles  before 
he  looked  at  her.  And  then  his  voice  was  abrupt  and 
gruff. 

"You  should  n't  have  come  here,  Jennie.  You 
should  n't  have  took  such  a  risk." 

"There  was  n't  any  risk;  nobody  could  have  told  who 
I  was,  and  besides,  there  was  n't  anybody  to  see  me," 
she  argued.  "And,  dad  .  .  .  Aunt  Mary  is  ...  I  had  to 
come!"  Her  voice  was  quavering  now.  "And,  dad  — 
I  —  I  wanted  to  see  you!" 

"You  should  n't  have  took  such  a  risk,"  repeated  the 
gruff  voice. 

"But,  dad  —  it  came  over  me  that  now  you  are  left 
all  alone  —  except  me  —  and  I  — ' 

"Don't  you  think  about  me — I'm  all  right."  He 
paused.  "If  there 's  no  one  left  but  you,  that  just  means 
that  there's  only  you  for  me  to  think  about.  And  I 
guess  that'll  be  plenty." 

Something  approaching  awe  had  come  into  the  grim, 
swarthy  face  as  his  gaze  had  taken  her  in.  He  was  gloat- 
ingly proud;  and  yet  he  was  half  afraid  of  this  new 
being  who  was  his  daughter.  His  voice  was  stiff  with 
embarrassment. 

"I  guess  I  don't  need  to  tell  you  that  you  are  looking 
just  about  as  fine  as  they  come!  And  I  seen  Harry  Ed- 
wards and  Slim  Jackson  lately;  they  both  tell  me  you 
are  landing  bigger  every  day.  I  wanted  you  to  have  a 


216  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

chance  —  and  you  're  sure  making  good  on  it.  You  just 
keep  that  up,  that's  all  I  ask  for." 

As  abruptly  as  he  had  turned  to  her,  he  now  turned 
away,  and  his  set  face  stared  straight  ahead.  Again 
Jennie  felt  descend  upon  her  her  childhood's  inhibiting 
habit  of  speechlessness  with  her  father  —  and  again 
father  and  daughter  rode  on  in  silence,  though  she  still 
clutched  his  hand.  At  the  Manhattan  end  of  the  bridge, 
where  the  jam  of  vehicles  brought  the  pace  of  each  down 
to  a  bare  crawl,  and  the  sidewalks  were  crowded  with 
bustling  people,  Black  Jerry  half  opened  the  door  of 
the  moving  car,  and  turned  to  her  again.  Once  more  his 
face  worked  with  its  strange  mixture  of  hunger  and 
gloating  pride. 

"Don't  you  take  no  more  risks.  You're  going  great 
—  just  keep  it  up.  You  won't  be  seeing  me,  but  some- 
how I '11  learn  what's  doing  —  and  you  just  remember, 
even  if  I  ain't  around,  that  I  '11  be  backing  you  up  in 
every  play." 

He  was  out  of  the  car  and  had  closed  the  door  be- 
fore she  could  so  much  as  say  "good-bye";  and  the 
drawn  curtain  did  not  even  permit  her  to  see  the  deft 
manner  in  which  he  transferred  himself  unnoticed  from 
the  car  to  the  milling  crowd  upon  the  sidewalk. 

After  a  few  minutes  she  recalled  the  problem  of  her 
necessary  transformation.  Ten  minutes  later,  her  taxi 
paid  off,  she  stepped  through  one  entrance  of  a  big  and 
busy  department  store,  a  figure  in  deep  mourning ;  and 
a  few  minutes  afterwards  she  emerged  from  another  en- 
trance, her  face  a  bit  pale  and  sober,  perhaps,  but  other- 
wise a  pretty  young  girl  seemingly  out  on  a  midsummer 
shopping  expedition.  By  the  middle  of  the  afternoon 
she  was  back  at  Silver  Bluffs. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  3  1 7 

Joy  —  grief  —  joy  again:  youth  is  so  elastic  of  spirit 
that  it  can  pass  from  one  extreme  to  the  other  of  its  emo- 
tional compass  almost  as  easily  and  rapidly  as  a  trained 
singer  passes  from  high  note  to  low  note  and  then  sweeps 
thrillingly  again  into  the  upper  range.  The  swiftness  of 
the  emotional  phases  through  which  Jennie  was  yet  to 
pass  that  day,  though  later  she  privately  rebuked  herself 
for  instability,  was  but  proof  of  her  youth's  great  resil- 
ience. 

While  she  was  changing  into  a  light  summer  frock,  a 
maid  brought  her  word  that  Sue  was  waiting  for  her  on 
the  pier.  But  when  she  came  out  upon  the  great  stone 
dock,  no  Sue  was  in  sight.  She  decided  that  Sue  must  be 
out  on  the  landing  platform  of  solid  masonry  to  which  a 
stone  stairway  descended,  and  she  strolled  out  to  the 
end  of  the  pier.  Sure  enough  down  on  the  platform  there 
was  Sue.  And  also  there  was  another  figure  —  Kenneth. 

Of  a  sudden  Jennie's  heart  began  to  go  madly.  Sue 
saw  her  at  once  and  called  to  her  to  come  down.  Ken- 
neth turned,  and  she  saw  that  the  drawn  face  which  she 
had  last  beheld  in  that  after-midnight  scene  in  the  li- 
brary, over  a  month  before,  was  now  brown  and  agleam 
with  vitality.  Kenneth  also  called  to  her,  and  with  steps 
that  she  strove  to  make  steady  she  descended. 

"Why  —  why  —  I  did  n't  even  know  you  were  com- 
ing home ! "  she  exclaimed  as  she  took  the  hand  Kenneth 
reached  up  to  her. 

"NeitherdidI!"  helaughed.  "Not  till  four  days  ago." 

"Then  Sue  must  have  known  for  four  days  you 
were  coming.  Why  did  n't  you  tell  me,  Sue?" 

There  was  no  answer  from  Sue.  Surprised  at  this, 
Jennie  looked  about.  Sue  was  already  up  the  stairway ; 
in  an  instant  she  had  vanished  over  the  top  of  the  pier. 


218  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

And  then  life  for  Jennie  moved  with  bewildering 
swiftness. 

Kenneth  laid  his  other  hand  on  the  hand  he  was  hold- 
ing. "Jennie,  look  me  straight  in  the  eyes,"  he  com- 
manded in  a  low  voice.  She  obeyed.  "Here's  what  I 
came  home  for:  I  came  home  to  ask  you  whether,  when 
you  were  so  nice  to  me  a  month  or  so  ago,  you  were  just 
flirting,  or  whether  you  really  cared?" 

The  suddenness,  the  complete  unexpectedness,  of  it 
all  utterly  swept  away  her  power  of  speech.  She  could 
only  gaze  at  him.  She  could  not  even  think.  But  her 
eyes  perceived  how  eager  was  his  handsome  face,  she 
was  conscious  what  a  graceful  figure  he  made  in  his 
white  flannels.  .  .  .  There  was  a  long  moment  of  silence 
down  there  on  that  platform,  shut  off  from  all  but  the 
sea,  with  the  water  rhythmically  plashing  over  the 
edge  —  a  long  moment,  while  they  gazed  eye  into  eye. 

"Because,"  he  said  at  length,  "out  there,  all  alone, 
I  could  n't  help  remembering  how  nice  you  had  been  to 
me.  And  whether  you  care  or  not  —  I  care!" 

She  had  enough  of  woman's  instinctive  evasiveness  to 
reply:  "But  I  thought  that  Gloria  was — " 

"There  are  two  things  I  awoke  to  while  out  there 
in  the  West,"  he  interrupted.  "One  was  that  I  really 
never  cared  for  Gloria.  The  other  was  that  I  really 
cared  for  you.  And  I  Ve  come  home  to  tell  you  how 
much  I  love  you  —  and  to  ask  whether  you  care  a  little 
—  and  to  ask  if  you  will  marry  me." 

She  had  known  him  in  his  earlier  attitude  toward  her, 
as  half  in  earnest,  as  amusedly  superior,  but  there  was 
no  doubting  his  full  earnestness  at  this  moment.  She 
did  not  at  once  reply.  She  had  not  analyzed  her  feel- 
ings for  him  before  this;  and  within  her  was  too  great  a 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  219 

whirl  for  her  to  analyze  them  now.  She  did  not  know 
whether  she  really  loved  him ;  but  she  had  been,  and  was 
now  more  than  ever,  fascinated  by  his  personal  charm 
—  to  which  was  added,  in  her  subconscious  mind,  the  at- 
traction of  his  manner  of  perfect  ease  in  the  great  world, 
the  knowledge  of  his  worldly  success.  It  came  to  her  in 
this  swift  moment  that  though  she  had  planned  and 
worked  to  get  on,  she  had  not  planned  for  just  this 
achievement;  and  it  also  came  to  her,  should  her  an- 
swer be  yes,  it  would  open  the  doors  to  the  fulfillment 
of  all  her  ambitions  and  the  ambitions  that  others  had 
dreamed  for  her. 

"Jennie  —  do  you  care?"  he  huskily  insisted. 

Her  eyes,  very  bright,  met  his;  her  voice  was  a  breath- 
less, bewildered  whisper. 

"  I  think  I  care  for  you  —  more  than  for  any  other  —  " 

He  did  not  let  her  finish.  "Jennie,"  he  cried,  and  took 
her  in  his  arms.  Thrilled,  gasping,  she  gave  herself  to 
his  embrace,  and  her  head  sank  upon  his  shoulder  — 
and  she  rested  there,  quivering,  a  chaos  of  amazement, 
of  half-frightened  ecstatic  happiness.  .  .  . 

But  presently,  even  in  these  supreme  moments  while 
she  first  rested  upon  the  shoulder  of  her  wonderful  lover, 
her  divided  soul,  her  habit  of  looking  back  into  the 
world  she  had  left,  asserted  itself.  Her  mind  flashed  to 
two  hours  before  and  she  saw  her  father  as  he  made  his 
sudden  exit  from  her  taxicab,  his  grim,  unhandsome 
face  working  with  hunger  and  gloating  pride ;  and  again 
she  heard  his  gruff  unsteady  whisper,  "Remember  — 
I '11  be  backing  you  up  in  every  play!" 

When  he  learned  about  this,  what  would  her  father 
think? 


CHAPTER  XX 

BLACK  JERRY  INSURES  JENNIE'S  HAPPINESS 

AN  hour  later,  when  Jennie  and  Kenneth  mounted 
from  the  wave-washed  landing  of  stone  where 
life  for  Jennie  had  taken  such  a  gaspingly  swift 
upward  flight,  it  had  been  decided  that  Kenneth's  fam- 
ily was  at  once  to  be  told  of  the  engagement.  To  Jen- 
nie's bewilderment  over  the  event  itself  was  added  the 
suspense  of  how  the  family  would  take  it.  She  was 
suddenly  and  acutely  conscious  that  in  the  matter  of 
her  social  desirability  she  was  far,  far  less  than  they  be- 
lieved her  —  and  they  believed  her  to  be  just  a  likable 
girl,  an  orphan,  without  fortune  and  without  position. 

But  before  Kenneth  was  half  through  his  first  sen- 
tence, Mrs.  Harrison  had  grasped  what  had  happened, 
and  Jennie's  suspense  instantly  was  gone.  Mrs.  Harri- 
son took  Jennie  into  her  arms,  her  kindly  eyes  flushed 
with  sudden  tears. 

"It's  just  what  I've  been  wishing  for  this  long,  long 
time ! "  she  cried.  "  I  'm  so  happy,  my  dear  —  so  happy !  " 

And  Sue  —  Sue  found  such  part  of  the  English  lan- 
guage as  twenty  years  and  Braithewood  Hall  had  placed 
at  her  command  totally  inadequate  for  her  delight. 
Her  happiness  could  only  express  itself  in  ejaculations, 
hugs,  perfervid  kisses.  And  when,  a  little  later,  Mr.  Har- 
rison returned  upon  the  Myra,  he  accepted  Jennie  with 
all  the  heartiness  she  could  have  expected  of  him.  It 
seemed  that  the  whole  family  was  a  harmonious  unit  of 
pleasure  over  Jennie's  prospective  entrance  into  the 
family. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  221 

But  after  dinner,  up  in  Mrs.  Harrison's  sitting-room, 
where  Mr.  Harrison  had  asked  to  see  her,  Mr.  Harrison 
began  without  preface. 

"Kate,  I  Ve  got  to  say  I'm  not  exactly  pleased  with 
this  engagement." 

"Why  not?"  inquired  his  wife.  "Don't  you  like 
Jennie?" 

"  I  like  her,  yes  —  I  like  her  very  much  as  a  person. 
But  beyond  what  she  may  be  in  herself,  she  does  n't 
represent  anything,  and  she  won't  bring  anything  to 
Kenneth." 

Mrs.  Harrison  spoke  rather  sadly.  "There  you  go  — 
being  very  worldly  again." 

"  One's  got  to  be  worldly,  Kate,"  he  replied  dog- 
gedly, "to  hold  one's  place  in  the  world  —  or  to  win  a 
higher  place!" 

"But  why  need  one  bother  about  one's  place  in  the 
world?" 

"  I  know  you  need  not  —  you  were  born  at  the  top,  and 
so  it's  all  a  matter  of  course  to  you.  But  I  was  not;  and 
I  pulled  you  down,  out  of  the  circle  of  your  friends.  Of 
course  we've  gone  up  a  lot  since  then,  but  I've  got 
enough  of  a  man's  pride  in  me  to  want  to  place  my  fam- 
ily on  what  was  your  level  before  we  married  —  and  a 
higher  level  if  I  can!" 

"I  am  satisfied,  James." 

"But  I  am  not!  I  don't  object  to  Jennie  as  an  indi- 
vidual. With  all  his  popularity  almost  any  girl  would 
have  said  yes  to  Kenneth.  There  are  plenty  of  other 
girls  just  as  pretty  and  nice  as  Jennie  is  —  and  one  of 
these  would  have  had  money  and  position,  which  would 
have  helped  Kenneth  up  a  lot.  And  while  I'm  about 
it,"  he  went  on  doggedly,  "I  might  as  well  say  some- 


222  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

thing  else :  I  've  been  quiet  about  it  because  I  thought 
something  just  as  good  might  develop  for  Kenneth. 
Kate,  I  think  that  that  Gloria  Raymond  affair  was 
taken  altogether  too  seriously.  I  admit  Gloria  is  head- 
strong, and  I  admit  what  she  did  was  n't  particularly 
admirable.  But  she  could  have  settled  down,  and  her 
money  and  position  would  at  once  have  put  Kenneth  at 
the  front  of  New  York's  foremost  young  men  of  affairs 
—  and  with  such  a  start  where  could  n't  Kenneth  finish ! " 

Mrs.  Harrison  replied  with  a  decision  one  might 
not  have  expected  in  a  character  where  graciousness 
seemed  the  chief  element.  "Money  and  position  are  n't 
everything!  And  particularly  in  Kenneth's  case,  they're 
not  what  he  needs  most.  Jennie  has  brains,  and  char- 
acter, and  strength  —  and  these  things  she  can  give  will 
in  the  end  be  of  greatest  help.  We  might  as  well  be 
frank  with  ourselves  abput  Kenneth :  with  all  his  abili- 
ties, he  has  his  strain  of  weakness.  The  real  force  and 
character  in  Jennie  may  be  what,  if  she  gets  time  and 
a  real  chance,  is  necessary  to  make  Kenneth  into  a  big, 
substantial,  human  man.  And  to  have  my  son  a  real 
man  —  that  to  me  must  always  be  the  dominant  con- 
cern about  Kenneth." 

Mr.  Harrison  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "Well,  there's 
not  much  use  in  discussing  which  is  the  better  way,  since 
the  matter  is  settled."  He  moved  about  restlessly  for 
a  moment,  then  turned  back  upon  his  wife.  "All  the 
same,"  he  said  abruptly,  "it  might  have  been  better  for 
Kenneth,  and  for  all  of  us,  if  the  girl  in  the  case  had  posi- 
tion and  money." 

She  replied  to  the  look  in  his  eyes  rather  than  to  his 
words.  "What 's  the  matter,  James?  Business  worries?  " 

"Yes.    And  the  right  sort  of  connections  might  help 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  223 

us  out  of  those  worries.  The  business  relationship  with 
Mr.  Conway  may  not  prove  as  profitable  —  or  agreeable 
—  as  in  the  past." 

"Why  not?" 

"He  faces  trouble,  and  if  it  comes  to  pass  we're  cer- 
tain to  suffer.  Back  of  it  all  is  a  political  feud  between 
Mr.  Conway  and  a  man  named  Murdock,  and  it  does  n't 
look  promising  for  Mr.  Conway.  It 's  partly  politics  — 
a  fight  for  district  leadership.  You  would  n't  under- 
stand it;  I  don't  understand  it  myself." 

Mr.  Harrison  did  not  add  that  as  a  careful  business 
man,  who  wished  to  keep  all  his  connections  respecta- 
ble, or  remain  ignorant  of  such  as  were  not,  he  had 
avoided  trying  to  understand  it;  and  he  did  not  add 
that  since  the  Sunday  several  weeks  back  when  Con 
way  had  called  upon  him,  he  had  used  all  the  influence 
he  could  exert  through  his  most  powerful  social  and 
financial  connections  upon  Murdock,  and  Murdock  had 
seemed  still  recalcitrant  and  determined.  He  was  filled 
with  forebodings  —  not  on  account  of  what  might  hap- 
pen to  Conway  —  but  on  account  of  what  Conway  had 
so  clearly  and  truly  stated  might  happen  to  the  business 
of  Harrison  and  Company. 

While  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harrison  discussed  and  considered, 
Jennie,  having  excused  herself  and  gone  up  to  her  room, 
also  considered.  Her  dominant  feeling  toward  Kenneth 
was  still  bewildered  fascination ;  toward  herself  person- 
ally her  feeling  was  that  she  was  going  up,  up  —  breath- 
lessly, magically  up!  And  she  would  help  Kenneth 
make  a  great  place  in  the  world  —  a  very  great  place ! 
She  felt  swelling  within  herself  the  power  to  do  this. 

And  then  she  thought  again  of  her  father  —  her  mind 
lingered  upon  him.  What,  indeed,  would  he  say  when  he 


224  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

learned?  In  her  exalted  spirits,  a  great  idea  was  sud- 
denly born.  There  was  one  thing  she  might  do,  after 
she  had  become  Kenneth's  wife  and  had  come  to  be  the 
person  of  power  which  she  intended  to  be:  she  would 
use  her  influence,  indirectly  of  course,  to  have  removed 
from  her  father  that  stigma  of  double  murder  which  he 
had  borne  for  fifteen  years.  Yes  —  she  would  do  it!  .  .  . 

She  decided  that  she  should  at  once  tell  her  father 
of  her  engagement.  Late  at  night,  in  a  disguised  hand, 
she  wrote  an  unsigned  note  to  him,  which  she  sealed 
and  enclosed  in  a  letter  to  Uncle  George,  a  letter  which 
would  mean  nothing  if  it  fell  into  the  possession  of  the 
wrong  person,  but  which  Uncle  George  would  under- 
stand. Then  she  slipped  out  of  the  house  unobserved, 
and  out  of  the  grounds,  and  dropped  the  letter  into  a 
village  post-box. 

The  letter  was  not  taken  up  until  the  next  morning, 
and  Uncle  George  did  not  receive  it  until  the  next 
evening  when  he  came  back  to  dress  for  dinner  to  his 
apartment  on  Central  Park  West :  Uncle  George,  though 
he  liked  the  easy  life  of  the  restaurants  and  hotels  of 
Broadway,  preferred  for  his  hours  of  rest  and  relaxation 
a  roomy,  quiet  place  such  as  he  had,  managed  by  a 
suavely  efficient  Japanese  servant.  Uncle  George  could 
not  break  his  dinner  appointment,  but  at  nine  o'clock 
he  passed  through  the  Pekin,  whose  two-piece  orchestra 
had  just  begun  its  evening's  work,  and  with  Black  Jerry 
entered  the  little  office  at  the  rear.  When  the  two  men 
were  seated  at  the  little  table  he  handed  Black  Jerry  the 
enclosure. 

Black  Jerry  read  the  note,  then  he  lit  a  match  and 
burned  it.  When  he  looked  up,  his  black  eyes  were 
gleaming. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  225 

"Am  I  to  be  let  in  on  what  it's  all  about?"  demanded 
Uncle  George.  "Of  course  I  know  it's  news  from 
Jennie." 

Black  Jerry  told  him.  There  was  a  brief  silence,  the 
two  men  gazing  steadily  at  each  other. 

"Did  n't  I  say  my  Jennie  had  as  much  right  to  a 
chance  as  any  other  man's  kid!"  Black  Jerry  presently 
exclaimed  exultantly.  "Did  n't  I  say  I 'd  give  my  kid  a 
chance !  And  ain't  I !  And  did  n't  I  say  she  was  clever 
enough  to  make  good  in  any  chance  I  give  her!  And  ain't 
she  made  good!" 

"She  sure  has,  Jerry!"  returned  Uncle  George,  jubi- 
lant yet  solemn.  ' '  Well,  we  have  put  the  big  thing  across ! 
I  said  it  had  to  be  a  slow  plan  —  but,  Jerry,  we  have  put 
it  across!" 

Jerry  ordered  in  a  split  of  champagne,  and  these  two 
shapers  of  life  silently  drank  to  their  own  success  and  to 
Jennie. 

"She's  already  won  big,"  said  Uncle  George,  with 
eyes  meditatively  peering  into  the  future.  "And  yet 
she's  only  just  beginning!  I  wonder  how  far  she's  going 
to  go." 

"She's  clever,  my  Jennie  is,"  was  Black  Jerry's  proud 
response. 

"Yes,  she's  clever,"  Uncle  George  nodded.  "God 
only  knows  how  far  she'll  go!" 

Once  more  there  was  silence.  Then  Uncle  George 
spoke  on  in  his  solemn  tone: 

"We've  put  the  big  thing  over,  Jerry.  Our  job  is 
done  —  we're  through.  And  this  means,  Jerry,  that 
more  than  ever  you've  got  to  keep  out  of  her  life.  If 
it  was  n't  ended  before  between  you  and  her,  it 's  ended 
now." 


226  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Sure,  I  understood  that.  But  if  she  ever  needs 
me — " 

"Of  course  you  and  me '11  stand  behind  her,  ready  to 
back  her  up.  We'll  keep  our  eyes  open,  but  we've  got 
to  stick  behind  the  scenes,  Jerry  —  you  bet  we  've  got 
to  stick  behind  the  scenes  —  for  if  we  ever  made  any 
slip  and  those  swells  got  wise  to  Jennie,  there 'd  sure 
be  one  God-awful  crash!" 

Jerry  nodded.  His  dark  face  was  fixed  meditatively 
on  the  old  man  for  a  space ;  then  he  asked : 

"What  kind  of  a  guy  is  this  fellow  Jennie's  going  to 
marry?" 

"He's  one  of  the  young  swells  I  don't  know  such  a 
lot  about,  though  we  're  friends  when  we  meet.  He 's 
around  town  a  lot,  and  he  likes  his  good  time  —  same  as 
the  other  young  fellows  of  his  sort." 

"Girls?" 

"Can't  say,  Jerry.  In  that  line  he's  either  damned 
good  or  damned  cautious.  The  worst  thing  I  really  know 
about  him  is  that  he's  tied  up  with  Slim  Jackson  in  a 
show  or  two." 

"That  doesn't  listen  very  good  to  me,  his  mixing 
in  with  Slim  Jackson.  D'  you  think  he  '11  treat  her  square, 
Uncle  George?" 

"Why  not,  Jerry?  What  are  you  thinking  about?" 

"Nothing." 

But  Black  Jerry  was  thinking  of  something,  and  long 
after  Uncle  George  had  gone,  and  all  the  next  day,  that 
thought  kept  rising  and  mixing  with  his  pride  and  exul- 
tation in  Jennie's  rise,  and  mixing  in  with  his  fierce  af- 
fection for  her.  In  consequence,  he  that  evening  hired  a 
touring  car,  and  goggled  as  he  had  been  on  the  day  ol 
Jennie's  graduation,  he  rode  out  toward  Silver  Bluffs. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  227 

At  ten  o'clock  he  left  the  car  on  the  roadside  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  away  from  Silver  Bluffs  and  crept  inside 
the  grounds.  He  had  had  training  neither  as  burglar 
nor  as  spy,  but  he  would  have  made  a  fair  success  at 
the  precarious  trade  of  either.  Hid  among  the  shrub- 
bery he  watched  the  house,  studying,  listening  to  such 
talk  as  he  could  overhear;  and  he  slipped  about  the 
grounds  getting  the  location  of  the  outbuildings,  and  the 
lay  of  the  land,  and  particularly  noting  the  Myra  which 
lay  at  anchor  in  the  little  harbor. 

The  three  following  nights  he  did  the  same.  On  the 
fourth  night,  at  about  half-past  ten,  he  broke  the  lock 
of  the  boathouse  and,  subduing  his  voice,  he  telephoned 
up  to  the  big  house  asking  that  Mr.  Kenneth  be  told 
that  the  captain  of  the  Myra  wished  that  certain  or- 
ders left  for  the  morrow  be  made  more  clear,  and  that 
the  captain  would  be  awaiting  him  upon  the  pier. 

There  was  a  turn  in  the  path  that  led  down  from  the 
house,  and  at  this  turn  there  was  a  clump  of  thick  shrub- 
bery.  Behind  this  Jerry  stationed  himself.  Presently 
he  heard  footsteps,  and  after  a  few  moments  a  solitary 
figure  came  around  the  turn.  In  the  darkness  he  could 
only  see  that  the  figure  was  a  man.  He  stepped  for- 
ward and  saluted  sailor-fashion. 

"Mr.  Kenneth  Harrison,  sir?"  he  inquired. 

"Yes,"  confirmed  the  other.  "But  where 's  Captain 
Graham?" 

Jerry  stepped  closer.  "That  message  about  the  cap- 
tain was  just  a  fake  to  get  you  out  here." 

"Then  this  is  a  hold-up!"  cried  Kenneth,  and  in- 
stantly his  fist  shot  out  at  his  dim  opponent. 

But  Jerry  had  been  on  the  alert;  and  he  had  eyes  to 
which  night  was  almost  the  same  as  day.  Even  as  Ken- 


228  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

neth  struck,  both  his  wrists  were  seized;  and  country 
club  athlete  though  he  was,  he  was  helpless  in  those 
twin  grips. 

"Listen,"  said  Black  Jerry.  "I  ain't  going  to  hurt  you. 
I  just  want  to  talk  to  you." 

"What  about?" 

"The  girl  you're  going  to  marry  —  Jennie  Miller." 

"Jennie  Miller!"  exclaimed  Kenneth.  "Who  are 
you?" 

Black  Jerry  had  given  much  thought  to  this  point. 
"  I  'm  a  sort  of  cousin  —  pretty  distant  —  have  n't  seen 
Jennie  since  she  came  East  —  I  '11  never  figure  for  any- 
thing in  her  life.  Jennie  writes  to  her  people  out  West 
about  her  engagement ;  no  close  relatives,  but  some  peo- 
ple who  think  a  lot  of  Jennie  —  we  all  do  that,  though 
we  're  nobody  compared  to  her.  So  they  wires  me  to  look 
over  what  sort  of  a  fellow  this  Harrison  is.  You  get  me?  " 

"Yes."  Kenneth  had  begun  to  recover  his  composure. 
"And  what  sort  of  fellow  do  you  think  this  Harrison  is?  " 

"I  don't  know.  And  since  I  don't  know,  here's  what 
I  got  to  say  to  you."  Jerry's  naturally  heavy  voice,  sub- 
dued though  it  was,  was  vibrant  with  menace.  "Some 
people  say  I  'm  a  tough  guy,  and  mebbe  I  am.  I  'm  go- 
ing to  be  watching  you  all  the  while  —  but  I  '11  never 
bother  you  and  you'll  never  see  me  if  you  treat  Jennie 
right.  But  if  you  don't  treat  her  square"  —  Jerry  was 
now  holding  the  two  wrists  in  his  big  left  hand,  and  his 
right  hand  had  slipped  up  and  closed  softly  about  the 
other's  throat —  "if  you  don't  treat  Jennie  square,  I'll 
wring  your  damned  neck  off.  So  I  guess  you'd  better 
treat  her  square.  Remember  I  '11  be  watching.  That's  all 
I  want  to  say." 

He  drew  quickly  back  into  the  shrubbery  and  slipped 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  229 

through  the  heavy  shadows,  out  of  the  grounds.  To 
Jerry's  mind  his  action  had  been  a  wise  precaution. 
When  there  was  the  slightest  doubt  about  a  man,  stiffen 
him  up  in  advance  by  throwing  into  him  the  fear  of 
God  or  the  devil :  that  was  plain  common  sense  as  Life 
had  taught  it  to  Jerry  Malone.  What  he  had  just  done 
was  the  only  further  thing  he  could  do  which  would 
guarantee  the  safety  and  happiness  of  Jennie's  future. 

Within  the  house,  somewhat  shaken,  Kenneth  told 
Jennie  of  his  experience.  "He  had  a  deep  growl  of  a 
voice,  and  though  I'm  no  weakling  he  could  have 
twisted  my  arm  right  off  if  he  had  wanted  to.  He  said  he 
was  a  sort  of  relative  of  yours  —  a  cousin.  Who  was  he, 
Jennie?" 

Jennie  knew  well  enough  who  the  man  was.  So  her 
father  had  gone  to  such  an  extreme  for  her  sake!  But 
though  dictated  by  love,  she  saw  his  action  for  that 
moment  as  ill-considered,  as  a  terrible  risk.  She  had  a 
feeling  that  Kenneth  was  eyeing  her  suspiciously.  For 
an  instant  she  trembled  inwardly  lest  the  whole  truth 
should  come  out  right  then  and  there. 

But  she  controlled  herself  and  spoke  steadily  enough. 
"Yes,  I  suppose  the  man  is  a  sort  of  relative."  She 
forced  a  smile.  "As  I've  always  told  you,  I'm  very 
much  of  a  nobody.  And  my  people  out  West,  or  such 
as  are  left,  are  pretty  rough  —  and  direct." 

Kenneth  smiled  —  though  wryly  —  and  she  knew 
that  her  danger  was  over,  if  indeed  there  had  been  any. 
"Your  cousin  was  direct,  all  right!  Even  if  I  didn't 
want  to  treat  you  square,  as  he  put  it,  just  because 
I  love  you,  I  'd  certainly  do  it  after  having  had  those 
hands  about  my  throat.  But,  Jennie,  do  you  mind  calling 
the  cousin  off?  I  never  did  like  big  dogs." 


230  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"I  will  —  if  I  can  reach  him,"  promised  Jennie. 

"Since  mother  sent  out  the  announcement  of  our  en- 
gagement this  afternoon,"  Kenneth  went  on,  "it'll 
probably  be  in  to-morrow  morning's  papers  —  and 
reading  it  in  black  and  white  may  reassure  and  quiet 
him  a  bit." 

"Yes,  I  think  it  will,"  Jennie  agreed. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

HARRY  EDWARDS  LEARNS  THE  NEWS 

NOT  very  far  from  the  Pekin,  and  not  far  from 
the  Criminal  Courts  Building,  and  not  far  from 
the  City  Hall  where  the  formalities  relative  to 
such  items  as  public  contracts  are  conducted,  there 
stood  and  still  stands  a  grimy  unpretentious  brick  build- 
ing having  upon  the  plate  glass  of  its  first  floor  the 
tarnished  gilt  sign  of 

SAMUEL  CONWAY 
REAL  ESTATE  &  INSURANCE 

Always  there  was  a  group  of  men  in  the  big  outer 
office  —  sometimes  a  crowd ;  but  none  came  to  sell  or 
buy  property,  or  to  safeguard  against  loss  by  fire,  or  to 
place  a  little  bet  (odds  fixed  by  the  actuary's  handbook) 
upon  the  great  race  between  Life  and  Death.  Sam 
Conway  had  long  since  dropped  business  of  such  a 
sort;  his  quarters  had  become  an  unofficial  sub-station 
of  the  city  government.  Here  many  a  matter  was  pri- 
vately worked  out  and  privately  settled,  later  to  be 
submitted  in  City  Hall  to  the  public  approval  of  a  per- 
functory vote. 

The  time  was  ten  o'clock  of  the  morning  following 
Black  Jerry's  brief  scene  with  Kenneth  Harrison;  and 
in  the  inner  office,  alone  together,  sat  Harry  Edwards 
and  Sam  Conway  himself,  his  bulk  swelling  over  and 
under  the  arms  of  his  swivel  chair. 

"Glad  to  see  you,  Harry,"  he  was  saying  in  his  hearty 


232  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

voice.  "Everything  moving  along  all  right  for  you  over 
to  the  office?" 

"My  end  of  things  is  going  great  —  thanks  to  you, 
Sam!"  exclaimed  Harry. 

"Thank  yourself,  my  boy!"  — with  a  deprecatory 
wave  of  a  big  hand,  and  a  genial  smile  on  his  florid  face. 
It  was  easy  to  see  why  men  liked  Sam  Conway  and 
would  fight  for  him :  he  never  belittled  them.  "Of  course, 
I  may  be  able  to  put  you  in  the  way  of  a  good  chance, 
but  the  rest  is  all  up  to  you.  If  you  make  good,  it's  be- 
cause you  are  good.  But  how  does  it  come  you  're  away 
from  the  office  in  the  middle  of  the  morning?" 

"There's  something  Mr.  Harrison  wanted  to  know. 
Since  he  did  n't  want  to  telephone,  I  guess  he  felt  it  was 
confidential." 

"Shoot,  Harry,"  said  the  big  man  jocularly.  "I  got 
too  many  good  friends  in  the  Police  Department  for 
them  to  plant  any  listening  machines  about  this  shop." 

"Mr.  Harrison  seemed  worried  about  this  Murdock 
mix-up.  He  wanted  to  know  if  there  were  any  new 
developments." 

Conway's  face  became  grave.  "I  guess  I  don't  need 
to  tell  you,  Harry,  that  there's  nothing  to  all  this  stuff 
Murdock  says  he  can  prove  against  me.  Nothing 
crooked,  I  mean." 

"Of  course  not!"  Harry  exclaimed.  "You're  square 
as  they  make  'em!  There's  nothing  to  Murdock  but 
just  jealousy  and  spite!" 

" I  guess  you've  got  it  sized  up  just  about  right.  But 
thanks  for  feeling  that  way  about  me."  He  paused, 
eyes  full  on  Harry,  then  spoke  with  deliberation.  "All 
the  same,  Harry,  you  might  as  well  know  that  if  he  can 
go  through  with  all  he's  threatened,  I'm  done  for  — 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  233 

finished  —  I  'm  a  has-been.  And  it  may  even  mean  a 
stretch  in  the  pen  for  me.  Of  course  he's  got  some 
papers ;  I  Ve  tried  to  help  some  friends  in  my  time,  and 
those  papers  can  be  twisted  to  look  mighty  bad." 

"They're  all  rot!"  Harry  declared  loyally.  "And 
Murdock'll  never  put  it  across!" 

"No,  I  don't  think  Murdock  will,"  the  other  said  with 
Jjuiet  incisiveness. 

"Shall  I  tell  Mr.  Harrison  that?" 

"Yes."  And  then,  as  Harry  started  to  rise  —  "Wait 
a  minute."  Conway  regarded  the  young  man  stead- 
ily. "How  much  you  getting  now,  Harry?" 

"Fifty  a  week." 

Without  remark  Conway  reached  for  the  desk  tele- 
phone, and  after  a  minute  he  was  talking  with  Mr.  Har- 
rison. "This  is  Sam  Conway.  I  want  Harry  Edwards's 
salary  raised  to  seventy-five  a  week,  the  raise  to  date 
back  to  the  first  of  the  month.  He's  to  be  put  on  some 
things  I'm  specially  interested  in — I'll  tell  you  just 
what  when  I  see  you.  Good-bye." 

"Why,  Sam — "  began  the  astounded  and  gratified 
Harry. 

"Cut  out  the  thanks.  I  take  care  of  my  friends  when 
they've  proved  that  they  are  my  friends  and  when 
they've  proved  they  can  do  the  work.  You're  worth 
the  raise.  You'll  get  your  orders  later.  That 's  all  there 
is  to  that.  So  let's  forget  it." 

Harry's  lips  did  not  speak,  but  his  soul  was  eloquent. 
It  was  wonderful,  this  straightforward,  big-man's  method 
Conway  had  of  doing  fair  and  generous  things  and  then 
instantly  dismissing  them. 

"And  here's  another  thing  you  might  tell  Mr.  Harri- 
son," Conway  went  on.  "  I  think  there's  a  good  chance 


234  ^  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

for  this  Murdock  matter  to  blow  over.  Some  friends 
have  arranged  for  us  to  meet  to-night  —  and  we  're  go- 
ing to  have  dinner  together;  they  think  if  we're  brought 
together  we  may  patch  things  up." 

"Mr.  Harrison  will  be  mighty  glad  to  hear  that," 
said  Harry. 

"Then  to-day  ought  to  be  a  good  day  for  him,"  said 
Conway  —  "this  coming  on  top  of  the  engagement  in 
his  family." 

1 '  What  engagement  ? ' ' 

"His  son's.  Didn't  you  see  it  in  the  papers  this 
morning?" 

"  I  've  hardly  had  a  chance  to  look  at  to-day's  papers. 
I  suppose  it  is  to  that  Miss  Raymond." 

"No.  That  was  n't  the  name  in  the  paper.  When  I 
read  it,  I  had  an  idea  it  was  that  dark  girl  we  met  that 
day  out  at  Harrison's  place.  Here's  the  paper  it  was 
in"  —  taking  a  newspaper  from  his  desk  —  "and  here's 
the  piece  about  it.  Miller  —  Jennie  Miller  is  her  name. 
Why  what's  the  matter,  Harry?" 

Harry  had  risen,  his  face  suddenly  white  and  haggard. 
"Give  me  the  paper,  Sam!"  he  exclaimed  huskily,  and 
seized  the  newspaper  from  Conway's  hands.  Yes,  there 
it  was  in  print!  His  feverish  eyes  took  in  the  main 
facts:  "Mrs.  James  Harrison  announces  .  .  .  Kenneth 
Harrison  .  .  .  Miss  Jennie  Miller  .  .  .  marriage  at  early 
date  .  .  ." 

"What's  the  matter,  Harry?"  repeated  Conway. 

Harry  swayed  so  that  he  caught  hold  of  the  desk  to 
save  himself.  "It's  —  it's  —  I  just  suddenly  feel  sick, 
Sam.  Will  you  get  those  messages  over  to  Mr.  Harrison 
—  somehow  —  and  —  and  tell  him  I  'm  sick.  Good-bye." 

"See  here,  Harry — " 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  235 

But  Harry  was  already  swaying  toward  the  door,  and 
did  not  pause.  Out  on  the  sidewalk  he  lurched  along 
like  a  man  in  liquor,  save  that  his  head  was  up  and  his 
eyes  were  wildly  staring.  For  several  minutes  he  did 
not  know  what  he  was  doing,  or  where  he  was  —  his 
walk  was  wild,  purposeless.  His  brain,  his  soul,  was 
fiery,  agonizing  chaos.  So  Jennie  was  to  be  married !  .  .  , 

His  throbbing  chaos  did  not  lessen,  but  presently  out 
of  it  emerged  a  purpose.  At  eleven  o'clock  he  entered 
the  apartment  house  on  Central  Park  West,  pushed  by 
the  Japanese  valet-butler  who  answered  his  ring  and 
strode  into  Uncle  George's  bedroom,  closing  the  door 
behind  him.  The  old  man,  propped  up  in  bed  with  many 
pillows,  was  having  his  morning  coffee. 

"I  say,  Harry  —  what's  broke  loose?"  cried  the  old 
man,  staring  at  the  frantic  figure  that  had  stormed  hia 
bedroom. 

"You  know  about  Jennie  Malone's  engagement  to 
Kenneth  Harrison?" 

"Why,  I  suppose  I  do,  Harry."  Uncle  George  set  his 
cup  on  his  breakfast  tray.  "But  what's  that  got  to  do 
with  this  calling  out  of  the  fire  department?" 

"I've  always  loved  her!  —  I've  always  expected  to 
marry  her!  —  and  I  've  simply  got  to  see  her!" 

Uncle  George  blinked  his  lashless  eyes  at  this  passion- 
ate outbreak.  He  spoke  drawlingly,  with  purpose  in  his 
deliberation. 

"All  that  being  so,  why  do  you  burst  in  here  like  this, 
making  me  spill  coffee  on  the  handsomest  pajamas  in 
New  York  not  owned  by  a  woman?  " 

"  Because  I  know  you  Ve  got  some  safe  way  of  getting 
quick  word  to  Jennie.  I  've  got  to  see  her,  and  it 's  up  to 
you  to  arrange  it." 


236  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

''Sorry,  Harry,  but  you've  spoiled  a  first-class  cup 
of  coffee  and  ruined  some  ne  plus  ultra  pajamas  all  for 
nothing.  There 's  not  a  thing  I  —  " 

"Oh,  yes,  you  can  —  and  you  will !  I  don't  want  to  do 
anything  that'll  hurt  Jennie  —  God  knows  I  don't!  — 
but  unless  you  fix  matters  and  give  me  a  chance  to  see 
her  and  argue  my  side  of  this  case,  I'll  smash  every- 
thing. I  '11  tell  all  I  know!  That  may  be  a  rotten  thing 
to  do  —  but  I  'm  crazy  over  this  —  and  I  '11  do  it,  Uncle 
George  —  I '11  do  it!" 

Uncle  George  perceived  that  mere  words,  however 
adroit,  would  not  avert  this  danger  —  that  this  grief- 
maddened  young  man  would  certainly  act,  if  not 
properly  handled.  Only  a  few  nights  before,  down  in 
the  Pekin,  he  and  Black  Jerry  had  said  that  their  great 
plan  had  been  brought  to  a  triumphant  finish,  —  that 
henceforth  they  were  to  be  out  of  Jennie's  life.  But 
there  had  been  a  proviso  that  they  were  to  come  to 
Jennie's  aid  if  she  should  need  them.  Well,  she  cer- 
tainly was  now  in  danger.  And  this  was  not  a  situation 
where  Black  Jerry  could  help;  Uncle  George  perceived 
that  he  must  play  the  cards  for  both  Black  Jerry  and 
himself. 

"Suppose  you  have  a  talk  with  Jennie,  and  suppose 
she  still  says  no  —  what  then?  "  demanded  Uncle  George. 

"If  she  still  says  no,  I'll  swallow  my  medicine  and 
never  say  a  word." 

"Remember,  Harry,  that's  a  promise." 

Silently  Uncle  George  reached  for  the  telephone  be- 
side his  bed  and  called  a  Long  Island  number.  There 
was  a  long  wait  —  it  seemed  interminable  to  Harry; 
then  Uncle  George  said  in  precise,  business-like  voice- 
totally  unlike  his  own: 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  237 

"The  office  of  Taylor  and  Johnson  wishes  to  speak  to 
Miss  Miller,  please."  There  was  another  long  wait;  then 
Uncle  George's  voice  of  a  chief  clerk  spoke  again. 
"Hello Is  this  Miss  Miller?  .  .  .This  is  Mr.  Har- 
per, of  Taylor  and  Johnson.  The  firm  finds  it  necessary 
to  ask  you  to  come  in  to  the  office  some  time  this  after- 
noon. .  .  ." 

A  minute  passed  with  Uncle  George  listening.  "Hold 
the  wire  one  moment,  please,"  requested  Uncle  George's 
clerical  voice.  He  looked  up  at  Harry,  covering  the 
mouth-piece  with  his  hand. 

"She  says  Mrs.  Harrison  has  arranged  a  party  this 
afternoon  especially  for  some  people  to  meet  her;  she 
cannot  possibly  break  that  engagement.  And  this  eve- 
ning she  was  going  to  be  in  town  with  Sue  Harrison  to 
have  dinner  with  Kenneth  and  —  " 

"Let  her  get  out  of  that  engagement  with  Kenneth 
Harrison!"  cried  Harry.  "And  I  don't  care  how  she 
gets  out  of  it!" 

Uncle  George  considered;  then  spoke  into  the  tele- 
phone again.  "The  firm  requests  me  to  ask  you  to  call 
up  Mr.  Taylor  at  the  Biltmore  at  eight-fifteen.  He  may 
have  news  for  you.  .  .  .  Thank  you.  Good-bye." 

"Well?"  demanded  Harry  as  Uncle  George  hung  up. 

"She'll  meet  us.  Now,  you  go  into  my  front  room, 
and  let  an  old  man  think  about  our  end  of  the  how  and 
where." 

While  Harry  strode  restlessly  up  and  down  the  living- 
room,  pausing  now  and  then  to  gaze  with  unseeing  eyes 
out  upon  the  midsummer  greenness  of  Central  Park, 
Uncle  George  lay  considering.  Where  should  he  arrange 
this  meeting?  —  which  at  the  best  would  be  dangerous. 
He  could  smuggle  the  pair  into  his  apartment  for  an 


238  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

hour.  But,  no;  for  them  to  meet  any  place  where  they 
were  not  seen  or  observed  might  remove  all  restraint 
from  Harry;  in  his  present  frenzied  mood,  despite  his 
promise,  he  might  lose  control  of  himself,  he  might  do 
almost  any  desperate  act.  If  they  could  meet  in  a  public 
place,  the  very  presence  of  others  would  impose  self-con- 
trol upon  Harry.  But  that  also  was  dangerous;  such  a 
public  meeting  might  lead  to  recognition.  And  thus  on 
and  on  Uncle  George  thought,  measuring  danger  against 
danger,  advantage  against  advantage  .  .  .  until  an  idea 
came  to  him  that  combined  the  good  qualities  of  both 
privacy  and  publicity  —  though  even  in  this  there  was 
risk.  He  thought  of  the  little  alcove  on  the  Grantham 
roof  garden,  a  part  of  the  big  roof  and  yet  screened  off 
from  it.  It  could  be  privately  reached,  he  remembered, 
by  a  tiny  elevator  which  had  been  installed  by  the  former 
owner  of  the  Grantham  for  his  exclusive  use  when  he 
had  made  his  home  in  a  small  tower  that  reached  two 
stories  above  the  roof.  Uncle  George  knew  all  men 
along  Broadway;  therefore  he  knew  the  manager  of  the 
roof  garden  of  the  Grantham,  and  after  two  minutes 
on  the  telephone  the  screened  alcove  was  his  for  that 
evening. 

Arrayed  in  a  purple  dressing-gown,  he  told  Harry 
where  the  meeting  was  to  be  and  how  the  alcove  was  to 
be  reached.  "Be  there  at  eight-thirty,  son,  and  wait; 
no  telling  just  when  Jennie  can  show  up.  And  wear  your 
evening  gown." 

" How '11  Jennie  get  there?'* 

"It  won't  be  easy.  But  you  leave  it  to  her;  she'll 
manage  it.  And  also  leave  it  to  your  Uncle  George." 

The  afternoon  was  a  period  of  burning  suspense  and 
searing  misery  to  Harry.  But  at  half-past  eight,  using 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  239 

an  almost  unnoticeable  doorway  in  a  side  street  he  en- 
tered a  small  hallway  of  the  Grantham,  and  was  shot 
upward  in  the  little  elevator,  run  by  a  wrinkled  little 
man  with  the  quick,  furtive  look  of  one  who  has  been 
schooled  to  see  everything  and  tell  nothing.  On  step- 
ping out  he  found  himself  in  the  secluded  corner  Uncle 
George  had  described  to  him.  There  was  a  table  set  for 
three.  Through  the  barrier  of  foliage  at  his  shoulder,  he 
could  see  the  big  roof  beyond  filling  with  early  dancers. 
Hardly  conscious  of  the  light-hearted  world  curtained 
off  from  him  by  only  a  few  leaves,  he  sat  at  the  little 
table,  tensely  waiting,  and  striving  to  gather  his  forces 
for  the  approaching  scene,  which  was  to  be  the  supreme 
crisis,  the  greatest  fight,  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  GREAT  CROSS-ROADS 

IT  was  nine  o'clock  when  the  private  door  through 
which  he  had  entered  opened  again  and  Jennie  ap- 
peared, Uncle  George  behind  her.  Uncle  George 
immediately  stepped  back  through  the  door,  it  closed, 
and  Jennie  came  forward  alone.  She  was  a  bit  pale  that 
first  moment,  but  she  crossed  easily  and  gave  her  hand 
to  Harry,  who  had  risen  unsteadily. 

"Good-evening,  Harry.  Shall  we  sit  down?  Sorry  to 
be  so  late.  But  I  was  with  a  party  of  people,  and  it  was 
hard  to  get  away.  I  managed  so  that  we  did  n't  go  to  a 
theater;  they're  all  at  another  roof  garden.  I  went  out 
as  if  to  answer  a  telephone  call  —  I  'd  fixed  that  up  with 
Uncle  George  —  and  I  sent  back  word  that  I  'd  had  a 
message  from  a  friend  and  had  to  see  the  friend  at  once 
for  a  little  while,  and  they  were  to  wait  for  me.  So  here 
I  am,  Harry." 

She  was  speaking  almost  against  time ;  she  washed  to 
get  control  both  of  the  situation  and  of  herself.  "Uncle 
George  said  you  wanted  to  talk  to  me,"  she  went  on. 
"  Be  as  quick  as  you  can  about  it,  for  I  Ve  got  to  hurry 
back." 

She  seemed  more  beautiful,  more  desirable  than  ever, 
to  Harry's  eyes :  with  a  filmy  scarf  of  red  and  gold  over 
her  black  hair,  with  her  coat  falling  back  from  her  white 
shoulders.  He  could  not  speak  for  looking  at  her. 

"What  is  it,  Harry?"  she  prompted  him. 

"That  announcement  of  your  engagement  to  Ken- 
neth Harrison  —  is  it  true?" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  241 

"It  is." 

"Jennie!"  he  cried,  and  drew  a  sharp  quivering 
breath.  "Jennie,  don't!  For  my  sake,  for  your  sake, 
don't!" 

"That's  no  reason,  Harry." 

"Well,  here  is  a  reason,  Jennie;  down  in  your  heart 
I'm  the  man  you  really  love!" 

Uncle  George  had  told  her  of  the  danger;  had  told  her 
that  she  must  be  calm  and  patient,  and  she  tried  so  to 
be.  "You've  said  that  before,  Harry.  But  it  is  n't  so. 
I  like  you  —  I  like  you  very  much,  for  you  're  a  nice 
boy.  And  I  hope  you  are  going  to  behave  so  that  I  may 
always  like  you.  But  it  will  never  be  anything  else, 
Harry  —  never!  And  now  I  think  I  'd  better  be  going." 

Harry's  hand  shot  across  the  little  table  as  she  started 
to  rise  and  caught  her  wrist.  "You  can't  leave  yet!"  he 
cried  with  all  his  heart's  desperate  eagerness.  "You've 
got  to  hear  me  through!  Can't  you  see  what  this  means 
to  me?  It's  my  last  chance  —  you  Ve  got  to  give  me  my 
chance,  Jennie!  And  whatever  your  decision  may  be, 
I  '11  never  bother  you  again  —  I  swear  I  '11  never  bother 
you!  —  if  only  you'll  listen  to  me  now!" 

She  sank  back  into  her  chair.  His  words  rushed  on. 
"Jennie,  listen  to  your  own  heart!  Be  your  own  self! 
I  know  you  love  me  —  we've  always  loved  each  other! " 
And  then  he  went  back  and  pictured  their  childhood  — 
pictured  it  in  detail  —  the  experiences  they  had  shared 
—  the  dreams  they  had  dreamt  together.  "And  that 
night  when  you  were  arrested,  and  you  disappeared,  I 
loved  you '  —  and  later  when  I  found  out  what  you  were 
doing,  I  loved  you,  and  I  determined  that  I  was  going  to 
work  hard  and  develop  and  be  somebody  big.  And  all 
these  years  I  've  been  doing  that,  Jennie.  I  Ve  built 


242  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

my  whole  life  on  you,  Jennie!  You  are  not  really  going 
to  throw  me  down,  Jennie  —  spoil  your  happiness  — 
spoil  my  happiness  —  spoil  everything  that  might  be 
—  you  're  not  going  to  do  that,  Jennie!  When  I  'm  will- 
ing to  keep  on  waiting,  when  I'm  willing  to  fight  my 
way  to  the  top  for  your  sake.  Listen  —  here's  some- 
thing that'll  show  you:  I've  just  been  raised  from  fifty 
to  seventy-five  a  week,  and  that 's  only  the  beginning !  I 
know  that,  compared  to  Kenneth  Harrison  in  a  worldly 
sense,  I'm  nobody;  he's  got  money  and  he's  a  swell 
to  boot.  But  I  '11  work,  Jennie  —  I  '11  wait  —  just  break 
off  this  engagement  and  give  me  a  chance  to  prove  what 
I  can  do!" 

Jennie  was,  indeed,  strangely  moved  by  the  torrent 
of  words  that  had  rushed  up  from  his  heart  —  she 
felt  a  strange  ache  in  his  behalf.  But  she  shook  her 
head. 

"I'm  sorry,  Harry.  But  it's  no  use.  I  like  you,  I  like 
you  a  lot  —  but  I  don't  like  you  that  way." 

He  returned  to  the  charge  desperately,  and  went  over 
it  all  again.  In  the  midst  of  his  plea,  Uncle  George,  who 
had  given  them  three  quarters  of  an  hour  alone,  took  the 
third  chair.  When  Harry  ended,  Jennie  again  shook  her 
head. 

"Now,  let  me  have  my  little  say,  Harry,  since  Jennie 
has  given  you  her  answer,"  put  in  Uncle  George.  "And 
what  I  say,  I  say  not  so  much  for  myself  as  I  say  for 
Black  Jerry.  Years  ago  he  saw  that,  with  his  bad  name, 
the  only  way  for  Jennie  to  have  a  chance  was  for  her  to 
cut  entirely  loose  from  him  and  be  somebody  else. 
She's  done  that,  and  she  now  is  certainly  somebody. 
If  you  were  to  marry  her,  it  would  naturally  come  out 
that  she's  Black  Jerry's  daughter  —  and  Black  Jerry, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  24.* 

after  all  he 's  done,  would  never  stand  for  that  happen- 
ing to  her." 

"I  don't  care  whose  daughter  she  is,"  cried  Harry. 
"It's  all  the  same  to  me!" 

"We  don't  even  need  to  discuss  that,  Harry,"  Jennie 
spoke  up.  "The  only  points  that  count  are  that  I  don't 
love  you,  and  that  my  mind  is  made  up." 

"Then  you  really  think  you  are  going  to  marry  Ken- 
neth Harrison?"  he  demanded. 

"I  am,"  she  declared. 

"  By  God,  you  're  not ! "  he  exploded.  "  He  may  have 
money  and  be  a  swell,  but  he's  not  fit  — " 

"Shut  up!"  she  cried  as  sharply  as  ever  in  the  old 
Pekin  days.  Her  dark  eyes  were  blazing  at  him.  "  If 
you  change  to  the  course  of  running  another  man  down, 
it'll  merely  show  you  up  as  a  cheap  cad!  And  I  won't 
believe  it!  And  what's  more,  I  '11  ask  Kenneth  to  marry 
me  to-morrow!" 

They  glared  at  each  other.  For  a  moment  they  sat 
silent,  their  gazes  defiant.  Then  a  low,  pleasant  voice 
said: 

4 '  Good-evening,  everybody. ' ' 

They  looked  up  with  a  start.  In  the  narrow  entrance 
from  the  roof  to  this  arbor  stood  Slim  Jackson.  He  ad- 
vanced toward  them,  smiling. 

"How  are  you,  Jennie.  How 're  you,  Uncle  George. 
How 're  you,  Harry."  Standing  beside  the  table,  a  light 
graceful  figure,  he  glowed  good-fellowship  down  upon 
them.  "Well,  well,  think  of  our  all  meeting  together 
like  this!  If  only  Black  Jerry  were  here,  it'd  be  the 
regular  old-time  crowd." 

"How  did  you  know  we  were  here?"  demanded 
Uncle  George. 


244  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Accident,"  he  answered  lightly.  "Was  dancing  by 
here  a  minute  ago  and  thought  I  recognized  Harry's 
voice,  a  little  excited,  talking  about  God  and  such  de- 
tails; so  when  the  dance  was  over  I  just  peeped  in." 

He  now  addressed  himself  to  Jennie.  "  I  'm  here  with 
a  little  party,  Gloria  Raymond  among  them." 

"Then  you've  made  up  with  Gloria?"  queried 
Jennie. 

"There  was  never  anything  to  make  up.  I  told  you 
there  would  n't  be.  I'm  sure  she'll  be  glad  to  see  you 
again,  Jennie.  Suppose  I  just  bring  her  in." 

With  a  smile  Slim  disappeared  through  the  leafy  en- 
trance. For  the  moment  Jennie  forgot  the  matter  of 
her  errand  here.  If  Slim,  the  unaccountable,  the  artful, 
who  at  times  seemingly  acted  against  his  obvious  inter- 
ests, were  to  bring  Gloria  in  here,  and  the  vindictive 
Gloria  were  to  discover  her  with  Harry  Edwards  — 

"Who  is  this  Gloria?"  asked  Uncle  George,  breaking 
in  upon  her  thought. 

"A  girl  I  went  to  school  with;  very  rich.  We  never 
got  on  together." 

Slim's  voice  sounded  again  close  to  her  ear.  There  he 
was  standing  hardly  more  than  a  yard  away,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  greenery,  and  beside  him  was  Gloria 
Raymond. 

"Just  saw  a  friend  of  mine  I  want  you  to  meet, 
Gloria."  Jennie  knew  his  voice  was  for  her  ears;  and 
despite  her  efforts  at  self-control  she  shivered. 

After  a  few  moments  Slim  gave  a  chuckling  laugh. 
"Don't  seem  to  place  her  just  now;  come  on,  let's  finish 
this  dance"  —  and  then  Jennie  knew  that  he  had  been 
merely  playing  with  her,  teasing  her,  taking  delight  in 
hinting  at  his  obvious  powers. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  245 

"He's  sure  a  clever  guy,  Slim  Jackson,"  observed 
Uncle  George,  with  a  sober  shake  of  his  head.  "What 
he's  done  is  sure  a  wonder.  But  that  Gloria  person, 
and  any  other  dame  he  smiles  at,  they'd  better  take 
out  the  right  sort  of  insurance  policy." 

"Let's  forget  him,"  Harry  said  brusquely.  "I'm 
here  to  see  Jennie,  and  this  is  the  final  show-down!" 

He  and  Jennie  looked  at  each  other  across  the  little 
table,  as  fixedly  as  before  Slim's  entrance,  though  there 
was  not  now  the  angry  challenge  and  defiance  that  there 
had  then  been  in  their  gaze.  Harry's  face  was  pale  and 
strained.  His  hand,  on  top  of  the  table,  slowly  clenched 
the  cloth  into  a  tight  roll. 

"Jennie,"  he  breathed  at  length,  "this  is  the  last 
time.  What  is  it  to  be?" 

"I've  already  told  you,  Harry." 

"You're  going  to  marry  him?" 

"Yes." 

"Then  .  .  .  this  is  final?" 

"  This  is  final,  Harry." 

She,  too,  had  gone  pale  as  she  gazed  into  the  white 
suffering  of  her  old  friend.  "  I  'm  awfully  sorry,  Harry," 
and  she  laid  a  hand  upon  the  hand  that  was  so  tightly 
gripping  the  cloth. 

"It  wasn't  your  pity  I  asked  for,  Jennie,"  and  he 
drew  his  hand  from  within  hers. 

They  gazed  silently  across  at  each  other  for  several 
moments.  Through  the  privet  trees  gayly  sounded  the 
strains  of  a  fox  trot  .  .  .  Jennie  drew  a  long  quivering 
breath. 

"What  time  is  it,  Uncle  George?" 

"Ten  o'clock." 

"That  late!"  she  breathed.  "  I  must  be  leaving.  And 


246  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

I  —  I  want  to  go  right  home.  Silver  Bluffs,  I  mean. 
We  were  all  going  to  motor  back  there  to-night.  If 
I  asked  Kenneth  to  drive  over  here,  do  you  suppose  I 
could  get  out  the  main  entrance  without  —  you  know 
—  our  being  seen  together?" 

"Easy,"  replied  Uncle  George. 

There  was  a  little  wall  telephone,  all  finished  in  green, 
in  the  alcove,  and  into  this  Jennie  spoke  for  a  minute 
or  so. 

"He  said  they'd  all  be  waiting  down  in  front  in  five 
minutes,"  she  announced  when  she  turned  back  to  the 
others. 

Uncle  George  rang  the  bell  of  the  private  elevator. 
The  shriveled  little  elevator-man  with  the  keen  eyes 
and  the  closed-seeming  face  —  the  old  man  had  been 
picked  for  this  job  because  of  his  reticence  —  was  a 
long  time  in  appearing.  Neither  Jennie  nor  Harry 
spoke,  and  in  an  attempt  to  lessen  the  strain  between 
the  two,  Uncle  George  talked  with  great  discernment 
about  nothing  in  particular  —  and  continued  his  flow 
of  unheeded  wisdom  down  the  long  descent  of  the  ele- 
vator. When  they  were  discharged  into  the  tiny  hall- 
way, Uncle  George  tipped  the  old  man  with  a  dollar; 
and  the  old  man,  giving  a  glance  with  his  keen  eyes  at 
the  faces  of  the  silent,  distraught  young  pair,  stepped 
into  his  cage  and  disappeared. 

Uncle  George  pointed  to  a  door.  "Jennie,  through 
there  is  the  way  to  the  main  lobby.  You'd  better  go 
alone." 

"All  right."  She  held  out  her  hand  to  Harry.  She 
had  grown  yet  more  pale,  and  her  voice  was  merely  a 
whisper.  "Good-bye,  Harry  .  .  .  and  I  know  there'll 
sometime  ...  be  a  better  girl." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  247 

He  managed  to  keep  himself  erect,  and  gazed  straight 
into  her  eyes:  in  his  own  was  the  infinite  agony  of  a 
world  that  is  lost.  "Good-bye,  Jennie  ...  I  wish  you 
the  best  of  luck."  And  then  again:  "  I  wish  you  the  best 
of  luck!" 

She  withdrew  her  hand  and  moved  down  the  lit- 
tle hallway  and,  slightly  bowed,  passed  through  the 
door  Uncle  George  had  indicated.  Harry,  motionless, 
watched  her  to  the  last.  Then  silently  he  and  Uncle 
George  stepped  from  the  hallway  into  the  side  street. 

The  night  was  raucous  with  the  voices  of  newsboys 
shouting  an  extra.  "Sounds  like  a  murder,"  remarked 
Uncle  George;  and  bought  an  "Evening  Telegram" 
from  a  bellowing  vendor.  The  next  instant,  his  eyes 
on  the  huge  headline,  he  clutched  Harry's  arm. 

"Great  God!"  he  gasped,  "Larry  Murdock's  just 
been  killed!" 

But  all  Harry's  senses  were  so  definitely  fixed  else- 
where that  he  did  not  even  hear  Uncle  George.  He 
walked  on  toward  the  Avenue. 

"And  it  says  they  don't  know  yet  who  killed  him!'* 
exclaimed  Uncle  George. 

Harry  kept  mechanically  on.  At  the  corner  he  paused, 
and  his  gaze,  turned  up  the  Avenue,  fixed  upon  the  front 
of  the  hotel.  He  was  not  even  conscious  of  Uncle  George, 
at  his  side,  staring  with  loose  face  at  the  "Telegram's" 
four-line  story  of  the  murder.  He  saw  only  a  low-built 
touring  car  —  in  its  tonneau  two  figures,  Sue  Harrison 
and  Billy  Grayson,  though  he  did  not  then  know  who 
they  were  —  and  in  the  driver's  seat  Kenneth  Harrison^ 
Then  he  saw  Kenneth  spring  out  of  the  car  —  saw  Jen- 
nie come  out  of  the  Grantham's  main  entrance  and  cross 
the  sidewalk  —  saw  Kenneth  with  a  smile  on  his  hand- 


248  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

some  face,  and  with  the  manner  of  proud  ownership, 
help  her  in,  and  place  himself  at  her  side  —  and  then 
saw  the  car  move  away. 

It  was  at  that  moment  that  to  Harry  Edwards  the 
world  seemed  to  come  to  a  definite  end. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

HOW  HARRY  USED  A  USELESS  LIFE 

HOW  he  got  there,  or  why  he  came  there,  Harry 
Edwards  never  knew;  but  at  twelve  o'clock 
that  same  night  he  sank  down  at  a  solitary 
table  in  Black  Jerry's  cafe.  Perhaps  he  had  been  guided 
by  the  subconscious  urge  to  get  back  to  the  scene  of 
Jennie's  early  life  —  back  where  there  had  been  no  bar- 
riers between  them.  He  afterwards  remembered  only 
wandering  in  a  wild  daze,  keeping  away  from  main 
streets,  having  no  purpose,  conscious  only  of  the  pain 
he  bore  within  him;  and  he  remembered  slipping  once, 
twice,  several  times,  through  doorways  in  these  obscure 
streets  and  swallowing  the  raw  stuff  they  set  forth  as 
anodyne  for  that  vast  agony  which  seemed  now  alone 
to  constitute  his  being. 

At  Black  Jerry's  he  again  ordered  whiskey  and  it  was 
brought  him.  He  gulped  it  down. 

"Telephone  call  for  you  a  little  while  ago,  Harry," 
said  the  waiter. 

"A'  ri',"  Harry  replied  indifferently.  "Bring  'nother 
whiskey." 

He  noted,  very  dimly,  that  the  regular  habitu6s  of  the 
Pekin,  those  from  the  neighborhood,  were  drawn  close 
together  in  little  groups,  and  were  talking  in  excited 
undertones.  He  dimly  sensed  that  there  was  something 
out  of  the  usual  in  their  behavior,  but  he  was  not  con- 
scious enough  to  wonder  what  it  might  mean. 

He  had  another  drink  —  and  another  —  and  another. 
But  as  yet  one  more  was  being  brought  him,  Black 


250  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Jerry  appeared  beside  his  table  and  motioned  the  waiter 
away. 

"Take  back  that  drink,  Sid,"  Jerry  ordered.  " Harry 
don't  want  it." 

"Wha's  tha'?"  demanded  Harry,  angrily  trying  to 
rise.  "I  ordered  tha'  drink  —  I  got  money  to  pay  — 
I  got  ri'  to  drink  it!" 

"Sit  down,  Harry,"  and  Jerry  firmly  pushed  him  back 
into  his  chair  and  sat  down  beside  him.  "You  ain't 
used  to  booze,  and  you've  got  more  'n  you  can  carry 
now.  See  here,  Harry,"  —  with  gruff  kindliness,  —  "I 
been  watching  you.  Something  must  have  happened  to 
start  you  off  like  this.  What's  wrong?" 

Harry's  blood-shot  eyes  glowered  defiantly.  "None 
your  damn'  business!" 

"Oh,  yes,  it  is.  I  've  known  you  since  you  was  a  kid. 
You  know  I  'm  your  friend.  Come  across  —  what 's 
eating  you?" 

Harry  pondered  this.  Then  he  leaned  over  the  table 
and  whispered:  "Jerry,  I've  jus'  seen  her!" 

Black  Jerry  needed  no  explanation.  He  glanced  about. 
Their  table  was  in  a  rear  corner,  and  no  one  was  within 
hearing  distance. 

"You  stiff,"  he  whispered,  half  savagely.  "Don't 
you  know  that's  dangerous!  Did  anybody  see  you  with 
her?" 

"Think  not.  Jus'  Jennie  —  Uncle  George  —  m'self. 
Yes,  Slim  Jackson  saw  us." 

"Slim  Jackson!"  A  groan  sounded  deep  down  in 
Jerry's  chest.  "  If  Slim  Jackson  starts  anything,  I  '11  at- 
tend to  him.  What'd  you  see  her  for?" 

"You  know  —  her  engagement  —  Kenneth  Harri- 
son?" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  251 

''Yes." 

Harry's  blood-shot  gaze  became  defiant  again. 
"Guess  you  know  I'd  always  banked  on  her  marrying 
me.  Had  to  see  her  to  put  up  fight  for  my  own  case  — 
my  last  chance.  Well  —  she  turned  me  down.  Tha  's 
wha's  matter  with  me!" 

"  You  better  forget  all  about  it."  Black  Jerry  nodded. 
"We  're  in  the  same  boat,  Harry.  I  Ve  give  her  up,  too." 

"You!"  flared  Harry.    "You're  only  her  father!" 

Black  Jerry  was  tolerantly  silent. 

"She's  turned  me  down!"  Harry  repeated  wildly. 
"My  God,  Jerry,  she's  turned  me  down!  And  me"  — 
clutching  his  crumpled  shirt  —  "I  don't  care  now  what 
happens  to  me!  I'm  through!" 

Jerry  perceived  the  dangerous  recklessness  of  the 
other's  mood;  perceived  that  Harry  should  be  both 
humored  and  handled  with  firmness.  "You're  a  bit 
off  your  bean,  Harry  —  you've  had  too  much  booze. 
Come  on,  I  'm  going  to  take  you  home." 

"Won't  go  home!"  declared  Harry. 

"Now,  Harry,"  persuaded  Jerry,  "we're  pals,  you 
and  me.  Ain't  we  both  had  to  give  her  up?  That  makes 
us  pals,  don't  it?  There's  nothing  I  would  n't  do  for 
you.  So  let  your  old  pal  take  you  home." 

"Won't  go  home!"  And  Harry  settled  stubbornly 
in  his  chair. 

Black  Jerry  recognized  that  he  had  to  change  to  a 
new  tack.  He  had  to  keep  Harry  engaged  until  his  mood 
changed,  and  he  chose  the  topic  of  interest  closest  at 
hand. 

"Who  do  you  think  shot  him,  Harry?" 

"Shot  who?" 

Jerry  stared.    "You  mean  you  ain't  heard!   If  you'd 


252  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

been  alive  you'd  have  learned  right  here  —  it's  all 
that  the  bunch  in  this  joint  have  talked  about.  I  mean 
the  murder  of  Larry  Murdock.  Ain't  you  heard?" 

Harry  recalled  exclamations,  unheeded  at  the  time, 
of  Uncle  George  over  the  extra  bought  outside  the 
Grantham.  And  he  began  to  apprehend  that  this  matter 
had  connection  with  the  life  that  had  been  his  in  that  far- 
away time  before  he  had  learned  of  Jennie's  engagement. 

"Yes,  I  heard,"  he  answered. 

"Who  do  you  think  shot  Murdock?" 

Harry  shook  his  head.  "Don'  know  nothing  about 
it.  Who  you  think?" 

"The  talk  in  here  all  runs  that  that  big  fight  between 
Murdock  and  Conway  was  behind  it.  They  think  that 
some  one  who  was  strong  for  Conway  must  have  done 
it.  Guess  that's  the  way  the  coppers '11  size  it  up,  too. 
We  're  all  sure  something  big  is  about  to  break  down  in 
this  part  of  town.  All  that  this  crowd  in  here  is  doing  is 
wondering  what 's  going  to  happen  next,  and  wondering 
who  the  guy  is  that  croaked  Murdock,  and  wondering  if 
the  coppers '11  grab  him." 

For  the  moment  Black  Jerry  forgot  Harry's  troubles. 
This  was  a  world-event  to  him,  and  another  was  impend- 
ing. Harry,  too,  his  faculties  quickened  a  bit,  sensed 
something  of  the  situation's  importance. 

Before  either  spoke  again,  the  waiter  who  had  served 
Harry  laid  a  hand  on  the  young  fellow's  shoulder. 
"Telephone  call  for  you  again,"  he  said. 

Harry  swayed  into  a  booth  and  closed  the  door. 
"Hello,"  he  called. 

"Is  that  Harry  Edwards?"  asked  the  voice  on  the 
wire. 

"Yes." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  253 

"Don't  mention  any  names,  but  do  you  know  who 
this  is?" 

Next  to  Jennie's  that  voice  was  the  one  he  would  have 
most  quickly  recognized  anywhere. 

"Yes." 

'"  I  Ve  got  to  see  you,  Harry  —  quick.  Can  you  meet 
me  at  the  office  in  ten  minutes?" 

"Sure." 

"Then  I'll  go  right  over  to  the  office.  If  things  are 
dark,  come  right  in  anyhow.  The  door '11  be  unlocked. 
And,  Harry,  better  not  let  anybody  see  you  come." 

"All  right."  There  were  a  few  more  sentences,  then 
Harry  hung  up.  That  friendly  voice,  anxious,  coaxing, 
yet  imperative,  had  cleared  his  murky  brain  yet  a  little 
more.  He  had  been  asked  to  come  alone.  Through  the 
glass  door  of  the  booth  he  eyed  Black  Jerry,  and  planned 
with  befuddled  cunning.  Then  he  stepped  out,  and 
moved  to  Jerry's  side. 

"That  was  just  a  crazy  fellow  I  know  —  wants  me  to 
meet  him  uptown,"  he  explained.  "But  you're  right, 
Jerry.  Thing  for  me  to  do  is  to  go  home." 

"Glad  you  see  it  that  way,  Harry.  I  '11  just  go  with 
you  like  I  said." 

"I'm  all  right.    Don't  need  any  one." 

"Of  course  you  don't,"  replied  Jerry  placatingly. 
"  I  '11  just  go  along  for  the  air." 

"That's  not  so,"  returned  Harry  with  shrewd  bellig- 
erence. "You  don't  trust  me.  All  right.  You  don't 
trust  me  to  go  alone,  then  I  stay  here." 

He  started  to  sit  down.  Black  Jerry  was  acquainted 
with  the  vagaries  and  obstinacies  of  men  in  liquor,  and 
knew  that  often  the  only  way  to  manage  them  was  to 
yield  to  them. 


254  -A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"All  right.  Go  home  alone,  then,  Harry.  And  go 
right  to  bed.  Good-night." 

"Good-night,"  said  Harry. 

He  made  a  fairly  even  course  past  the  energetic  two- 
piece  orchestra,  and  out  into  the  street,  where  he  turned 
southward.  Drawing  up  the  collar  of  his  summer  over- 
coat so  that  all  the  white  of  his  evening  dress  was 
blotted  out,  he  furtively  slipped  through  block  after 
block,  till  he  came  to  the  building  across  whose  ground- 
floor  window  one  could  read  in  daylight 

SAMUEL  CONWAY 
REAL  ESTATE  &  INSURANCE 

That  window  was  now  dark,  but  the  door,  as  Harry 
had  been  told,  was  unlocked.  Harry  entered,  closed  the 
door,  crossed  the  big  outer  room,  and  opened  the  door 
of  the  private  office.  Here,  likewise,  all  was  blackness. 
Harry  closed  this  inner  door,  then  called  in  a  low  whis- 
per: 

"Sam!" 

"All  right,  Harry." 

The  room  suddenly  filled  with  light.  If  one  desired 
perfect  privacy,  there  was  no  risk  once  the  door  was 
closed;  the  room  had  no  window,  hence  no  betraying 
gleams  could  filter  out  into  the  night. 

"Good  boy,  Harry  —  you  were  prompt  all  right!" 

"Sure,  Sam.    I  beat  it  straight  down  here." 

Even  to  Harry,  blinking  at  the  sudden  brightness,  and 
though  only  half-master  of  his  faculties,  the  Sam  Conway 
he  now  saw  was  a  startling  contrast.  The  big,  florid, 
hearty  man  of  such  genial  assurance,  was  pasty,  flaccid 
tense. 

"What's  the  matter,  Sam?"  exclaimed  Harry. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  255 

''I'm  sure  up  against  it,  Harry."  He  tried  to  laugh, 
but  the  laugh  was  thin,  shaky;  it  was  nothing  like  the 
laugh  that  had  helped  make  him  the  personage  he  had 
become.  "Of  all  the  mistakes  that  ever  happened  — 
of  all  the  crazy  breaks  a  man  ever  got  —  But  let's  sit 
down,  Harry."  And  when  they  had  done  so:  "Of  course 
you  Ve  heard  about  what  happened  to  Larry  Murdock?  " 

"Yes.  But  what  I  want  to  know,  Sam,  is,  what's  the 
matter  with  you?" 

"Why,  there's  nothing  the  matter  with  me,  Harry," 
Conway  laughed  —  his  thin,  unnatural  laugh  —  "noth- 
ing the  matter  at  all,  except  the  little  item  that  the 
police  think  I  croaked  Murdock  and  are  after  me." 

"You!"  cried  Harry. 

"Did  n't  I  tell  you  that  this  thing  was  crazy  enough 
to  be  funny  if  it  was  n't  so  serious?" 

"But  how  do  you  know  the  police  think  you  did  it?" 

"An  inspector,  a  pal  of  mine,  tipped  me  off  so  I'd 
have  a  chance  to  make  a  get-away.  That  was  really 
how  I  learned  Murdock  had  been  croaked.  On  the  face 
of  it,  it  looks  a  bad  case  for  me,  Harry  —  there's  no 
denying  that.  I  knew  the  last  place  the  wise  coppers 
would  ever  expect  me  to  be  was  my  office,  so  I  beat  it  for 
here  to  think  the  mess  over." 

"But,  Sam,"  ejaculated  Harry,  "how  did  it  ever 
happen?" 

"Part  of  it  I  can  tell  you,  part  I  can  only  guess  at. 
You  know  I  was  to  have  dinner  with  Murdock  to-night 
—  it  was  at  Halloran's  off  Third  Avenue.  We  were  to 
see  if,  by  getting  together,  we  could  n't  straighten  out 
all  this  mess.  But  Murdock  would  n't  give  an  inch.  We 
both  got  hot;  Murdock  said  he  was  going  to  the  District 
Attorney  to-morrow  morning  with  his  evidence.  I  guess 


256  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

1  lost  my  temper  at  that,  and  said  some  things  —  yes, 
I  know]!  did,  and  who  would  n't?  I  left  Halloran's  right 
after  that,  and  that's  everything  that  I  know  at  first 
hand." 

"But  what  did  the  inspector  tell  you?"  breathed 
Harry. 

"When  Murdock  came  out  later,  somebody  waiting 
in  the  street  let  him  have  it.  In  my  opinion  it  was  some- 
body that  had  a  private  grudge  against  him  —  he 's 
always  been  a  trouble-maker  and  has  got  a  world  of 
enemies.  But  because  of  my  losing  my  temper  and 
saying  what  I  did  in  the  restaurant,  the  police  are  go- 
ing to  try  to  fasten  the  job  on  me  —  at  least  that's  the 
tip  my  inspector  friend  got  to  me.  Now,  Harry,  I  'm  not 
the  best  man  alive,  but  I  don't  need  to  swear  to  you  that 
I  don't  try  to  settle  arguments  by  croaking  the  other 
guy  in  the  dark." 

"I  should  say  you  don't,  Sam!"  Harry  cried  hotly. 
"You're  always  on  the  level  —  out  in  the  open!  The 
coppers  are  crazy  —  they  're  always  pulling  bone-head 
plays  and  getting  shown  up.  There 's  nothing  for  you 
to  worry  about,  Sam!" 

"I  wish  you  were  right  —  but  there's  an  awful  lot 
for  me  to  worry  about."  Sam  Conway  spoke  distinctly, 
looking  Harry  directly  into  the  eyes.  "I  'm  strictly  up 
against  it,  even  though  I  'm  innocent.  I  'd  be  a  fool  if 
I  did  n't  see  the  whole  situation.  I  'm  due  to  be  pinched 
to-night.  And  with  me  arrested  on  a  murder  charge,  I  '11 
lose  out  in  the  coming  election — all  the  connections  I  've 
built  up  will  go  to  smash  —  the  people  I  Ve  helped 
into  good  positions  and  good  businesses  will  lose  them. 
Everything  will  go.  And  when  I  'm  cleared,  as  I  will 
be,  everything  will  have  passed  out  of  my  hands.  And 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  257 

Harry  —  I'm  an  old  man  —  I'm  sixty  years  old ;  if  I  lose 
hold  now,  I  'm  through.  I  'm  too  old  to  begin  the  fight 
all  over.  So  you  see  what  I  'm  up  against  —  what  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  of  people  will  be  up  against  if  I  'm 
arrested  to-night." 

"I  see!"  exclaimed  Harry.  "God!  is  n't  there  some 
way  out?" 

"That's  what  I  sent  for  you  to  talk  about,  Harry." 
Sam  Conway's  full  lips  were  hanging  loose  and  twitch- 
ing nervously.  He  spoke  with  febrile  eagerness,  yet  with 
restraint.  "There  is  a  way  out.  If  — "  He  paused  in  a 
way  to  magnify  a  hundred  times  the  importance  of  that 
"if." 

"If  what,  Sam?  Tell  me!" 

"If  you  would  be  willing  to  do  something  for  me, 
Harry  —  the  biggest  sort  of  thing." 

"Sarn,  you've  been  my  best  friend  —  I  owe  every- 
thing to  you.  I'll  do  anything  you  say.  What  is  it?" 

"Harry  —  will  you  stand  to  be  pinched  in  my  place? " 

"You  mean  —  for  the  Murdock  murder?"  breathed 
Harry. 

"Yes.  Listen,  Harry — I've  got  it  all  thought  out." 
The  great  Conway  reached  across  and  seized  Harry's 
knees  in  a  grasp  that  partook  partly  of  the  quality  of 
an  imploring  caress  and  partly  of  a  convulsive  clutch. 
His  words  came  with  a  rush.  "It's  like  this,  Harry.  If 
I'm  pinched,  there's  a  tremendous  smash-up  for  every- 
body, and  no  come-back  for  me,  since  I  'm  an  old  man. 
I  'm  in  public  life  —  that 's  why  the  smash  will  be  so 
big.  If  you're  pinched,  it's  not  going  to  hurt  you  so 
much;  you're  in  private  life,  and  you're  young.  You'll 
get  out  in  a  little  while,  and  nobody '11  ever  even  re- 
member it  except  me  —  and  what  I  Ve  helped  you  to  in 


258  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

the  past  won't  be  a  two-spot  compared  to  what  I  '11  do 
in  the  future!" 

"But,  Sam,"  gasped  the  dazed  Harry,  "can  it  be 
done?" 

"Easy!  All  they've  got  to  connect  me  up  with  the 
murder,  so  I  understand,  are  the  threats  I  made  in  the 
restaurant.  It  seems  nobody  saw  the  actual  shooting. 
Harry,  if  you  are  pinched  for  the  murder  before  the 
coppers  get  to  me,  and  if  two  or  three  guys  turn  up  to 
say  they  saw  you  shoot  Murdock  —  don't  you  see  that 
that  leaves  me  out  of  it  clean,  and  leaves  me  in  a  shape 
to  go  right  on  with  the  big  things  I  'm  doing?  And  you, 
Harry  —  when  the  case  comes  to  trial,  there'll  be  no 
one  to  testify  against  you  —  I' 11  attend  to  all  that  — 
and  your  case  will  be  dismissed,  and  all  you  '11  be  out  will 
be  the  weeks  or  few  months  you've  been  locked  up  in 
the  Tombs.  You'll  be  in  just  as  good  shape  as  ever! 
Better!  —  for  I  '11  not  forget  what  you  Ve  done  for  me! 

"  And,  Harry,"  he  argued  on  rapidly,  as  if  to  forestall 
and  overcome  possible  scruples,  "there's  nothing  new 
in  this  proposition  of  getting  a  guy  that  the  police 
can't  fix  anything  on  to  stand  for  an  arrest  to  help  out 
a  friend  who's  in  trouble.  You  know  it's  done  every 
day  down  here.  Only  I  guess  there's  never  been  a  cast' 
before  where  a  guy  could  help  his  friend  so  much !  Quick, 
Harry  —  will  you  do  it?  There's  hardly  a  second  to 
waste — and  we  Ve  got  to  frame  things  for  the  coppers ! " 

Whatever  else  his  circumstances  might  have  been, 
Harry  Edwards's  decision  might  have  been  the  same. 
But  just  now  he  was  bitter  and  reckless  —  partly  from 
alcohol  —  more  from  what  had  induced  the  drinking, 
the  agony,  the  sense  of  life's  emptiness,  that  the  final 
loss  of  Jennie  had  brought  upon  him. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


He  gripped  Conway's  hand.  "Sam,  you're  the  best 
friend  I  Ve  got.  I  '11  stand  for  the  arrest,  and  anything 
else  you  want  of  me.  And  I  'm  glad  to  do  it,  Sam"  — 
his  voice  was  husky  —  "it's  the  best  thing  that  there's 
left  for  me  to  do!" 

But  already  Conway  had  his  telephone  receiver  off 
the  hook.  An  instant  later  he  was  talking  rapidly. 

"That  you,  Tim?  .  .  .  Harry  Edwards  is  the  man 
you  want  for  that  Murdock  shooting.  Better  send  out 
a  general  alarm  for  him.  Be  quick  and  you  '11  have  the 
pinch  made  in  time  for  the  morning  papers.  Joe  Graves 
and  Jack  Pearson  saw  him  do  the  shooting;  you  know 
where  to  find  them.  .  .  .  Motive?  .  .  .  Why,  I  guess  he'd 
been  drinking  a  bit  and  was  excitable  ;  and  Conway  was 
his  friend  and  he  knew  about  Murdock's  threats  against 
Conway,  and  so  when  he  saw  his  chance  he  just  let  Mur- 
dock have  it.  That  ought  to  explain  things." 

Conway  hung  up,  rose,  and  fairly  drew  Harry  to  his 
feet.  "In  five  minutes  every  copper  and  plain-clothes- 
man  in  town  '11  be  after  you  —  better  beat  it,  quick,  so 
as  not  to  get  pinched  down  here  near  me." 

He  reached  for  a  switch,  and  the  next  instant  his 
twitching,  loose-hanging  features  were  a  part  of  the  dark- 
ness. He  guided  Harry  to  the  outer  door. 

"Try  to  make  Fourteenth  Street  before  you're  ar- 
rested," he  whispered  rapidly.  "The  farther  away 
from  here,  the  better.  Remember,  this  is  going  to  be 
for  only  a  few  months  —  and  that  I  '11  never  forget  it 
—  and  that  there  will  be  nothing  I  won't  do  for  you! 
Good-bye!" 

With  that  Harry  was  thrust  out  and  the  door  was 
closed.  Automatically  he  started  through  the  dark,  quiet 
streets  for  the  brighter  regions  of  the  city.  But  even  as 


260  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

he  walked  toward  arrest,  all  this  business  was  of  minor 
consequence :  his  mind  did  not  reach  forward  and  vision 
some  one  halting  him  and  snapping  bracelets  of  steel 
upon  his  wrists.  What  he  saw  was  Jennie  crossing  from 
the  Grantham  to  Kenneth  Harrison's  car  .  .  .  was  Ken- 
neth's possessive  manner  as  he  helped  her  into  a  seat 
.  .  .  was  Jennie  sitting  by  Kenneth's  side  as  she  rode 
away  out  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  WEB  OF  LIFE 

THE  breakfast-room  at  Silver  Bluffs  the  next 
morning  was  as  softly  radiant  as  if  the  air  were 
an   impalpable  solution  of  luminous  gold.     A 
gentle  eastern   breeze,   sauntering   across   the  Sound 
from  its  birthplace  out  upon  the  wide  ocean,  bore  sea- 
fragrance  and  a  broad  exhilaration  through  open  doors 
and  windows.    Nature  did  not  know  how  to  bring  out 
of  the  night  a  more  gracious  summer  morning. 

But  when  Jennie  came  in  to  breakfast  a  trifle  late 
—  at  Silver  Bluffs  the  family  breakfast  was  served  at 
seven-forty-five  for  the  sake  of  the  city-going  men  — 
she  did  not  so  much  as  note  the  rare  splendor  of  the  day. 
Most  of  the  night  she  had  kept  going  through  again 
and  again  that  scene  with  Harry  on  the  Grantham  roof, 
and  she  had  kept  seeing  the  despairing  yet  quiet  look 
which  he  had  given  her  at  parting.  Her  decision  had 
been  wise  and  proper  —  she  knew  that ;  but  the  approval 
of  her  judgment  had  not  brought  her  that  calm  which 
is  the  necessary  prelude  to  sleep.  So  she  was  worn  this 
morning,  and  nervous,  though  her  habit  of  self-control 
enabled  her  to  seem  the  usual  Jennie. 

She  had  just  said  good-morning  to  the  others  and  had 
attacked  her  grape-fruit,  when  a  sharp  exclamation 
from  Mr.  Harrison  caused  her  to  raise  her  eyes.    Mr. 
Harrison  was  staring,  mouth  loosely  open,  at  the  morn- 
ing paper  he  had  just  taken  from  beside  his  plate. 
"God!"  he  gasped  — "God!" 
"What  is  it?"  cried  the  startled  Mrs.  Harrison. 


262  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

He  did  not  even  look  at  her.  Instead  he  addressed 
his  son. 

"Kenneth  —  Murdock's  dead!" 

"Dead!"  ejaculated  Kenneth. 

"Murdered  —  shot  last  night!" 

This  Murdock  was  barely  more  than  a  name  to  Jennie; 
his  fate  had  so  little  interest  to  her  that  only  her  outer 
consciousness  was  aware  of  what  had  been  said.  But 
she  did  notice  that  a  look  of  vast  relief  had  come  into 
the  face  Mr.  Harrison  held  upon  his  son,  and  that  a 
similar,  if  lesser,  relief  was  in  Kenneth's  face. 

For  a  moment,  in  the  significance  and  the  surprise  of 
the  event,  the  two  men  forgot  that  they  were  not  alone. 

"Kenneth,  that  clears  up  our  situation  entirely!" 
exclaimed  the  older  man  in  a  marveling  tone.  "Under- 
stand what  it  means  to  our  business?" 

"Of  course!   We're  in  better  shape  than  ever!" 

"And  the  very  day  we  thought  matters  were  going  to 
explode  for  us!" 

"We're  certainly  playing  in  luck!  And  so  is  Sam 
Conway!"  A  quick,  keen  look  came  into  Kenneth's 
face.  "Who  killed  Murdock  —  Conway?" 

"I  don't  know.    I've  only  just  seen  the  headlines." 

Mr.  Harrison  glanced  back  at  the  paper  and  skimmed 
the  text.  The  next  moment  he  was  looking  up,  new 
astoundment  in  his  face. 

"Murdock  was  killed  by  that  young  man  in  our  office 
—  you  know,  Harry  Edwards!" 

Out  of  her  apathy  Jennie  came  staringly  to  her  feet. 
"Killed  by  Harry  Edwards?"  she  cried. 

"That's  what  the  paper  says." 

"Killed  by  Harry  Edwards!"  she  repeated  with  a 
shivering  gasp.  Only  her  hands,  one  of  which  clutched 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  263 

her  chair's  back  and  the  other  the  edge  of  the  table, 
prevented  her  toppling  over. 

"Why,  Jennie  —  what's  the  matter?"  cried  Ken- 
neth, springing  up  to  her  side  and  seizing  her  in  his 
arms. 

She  saw  that  all  were  gazing  at  her  in  amazement. 
Fighting  for  self-control,  she  managed  a  smile,  though 
it  was  a  very  white  one.  "  I  'm  all  right  now.  I  guess  it 
was  just  the  shock.  You  know  —  the  shock  of  a  man 
I'd  met  in  this  house,  and  once  had  danced  with,  ac- 
tually doing  such  a  thing." 

"I  understand  perfectly,"  said  Mrs.  Harrison  in  her 
soft,  sympathetic  voice.  "Perhaps  you'd  better  lie 
down  in  your  room,  and  I  '11  have  breakfast  brought  up 
to  you  a  little  later." 

"Thanks.   I  will.    But  don't  bother  about  breakfast 

—  I  shan't  care  for  any.  And  don't  come  along,  please" 

—  this  last  smilingly  to  Kenneth  who  was  supporting 
her  with  an  encircling  arm  as  she  started  out  —  "  I  'm  all 
right,  I  tell  you.   Please  go  back  and  finish  your  break- 
fast." 

He  relinquished  her,  and  she  walked  out  steadily 
enough.  But  instead  of  going  up  to  her  bed,  she  sank 
upon  the  great  leather  couch  in  the  living-room.  She  lay 
tense,  hardly  breathing  —  watching  for  them  to  come 
out  from  breakfast.  She  remembered  that  only  one 
morning  paper  was  delivered  to  the  family  at  Silver 
Bluffs;  that  Mr.  Harrison  glanced  it  through  perfunc- 
torily, and  left  it  behind  for  the  family  to  read  when  he 
started  for  the  city. 

When  they  came  out  she  sprang  up  and  declared  her- 
self to  be  thoroughly  recovered  from  her  flurry  of  nerves. 
She  watched  for  Mr.  Harrison  to  toss  aside  the  paper  as 


264  *A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

was  his  wont.  But  this  once  Mr.  Harrison  held  on  to  it, 
and  when  the  Myra  began  its  swift  thrust  through  the 
waters,  a  white  blossom  of  spray  springing  into  sudden 
bloom  at  its  bow,  she  saw  him  in  the  shelter  of  the  after- 
deck  again  reading  the  front  page. 

For  a  space  Jennie  was  foiled  —  sick  with  suspense. 
Just  what  was  it  that  Harry  had  done?  What  had  hap- 
pened to  him?  She  recalled  that  William,  the  butler,  had 
his  own  favorite  paper  brought  him  every  morning.  She 
went  into  the  dining-room,  away  from  Sue  and  her 
mother,  on  the  excuse  that  after  all  she  would  have  her 
breakfast  there ;  then  told  William  that  she  had  changed 
her  mind  and  would  eat  nothing,  borrowed  his  paper, 
and  slipped  out  the  side  entrance  and  down  the  bluff  to 
that  bit  of  silvery  beach  where  a  few  weeks  since  she 
had  talked  with  Harry.  Seated  behind  the  big  boulder 
she  began  to  read. 

For  one  brief  day  Larry  Murdock,  comparatively  un- 
important though  he  may  have  been  in  his  life,  in  his 
death  forced  European  events,  then  hurrying  toward  the 
outbreak  of  the  Great  War,  to  let  him  share  with  them 
the  front  page  upon  terms  of  equality  —  for  big  local 
politics  were  involved.  The  story,  as  the  paper  gave  it, 
and  as  it  came  from  the  police,  Jennie  at  once  saw  to  be 
an  appallingly  perfect  case  against  Harry.  Inspector 
Timothy  Dixon,  interviewed,  had  his  evidence  convinc- 
ingly arrayed ;  the  account  praised  him  for  the  amazing 
celerity  and  completeness  with  which  he  had  handled  the 
affair.  Two  witnesses,  Joseph  Graves  and  John  Pearson, 
had  seen  Edwards  shoot  Alurdock  as  the  latter  came  out 
of  Halloran's  cafe,  and  had  then  seen  Edwards  vanish 
around  a  corner.  Edwards  had  managed  to  evade  the 
police  for  a  time,  but  had  been  arrested  by  Detectives 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  265 

O'Brien  and  Casey  as  he  was  trying  to  enter  a  taxicab 
on  Fourteenth  Street.  His  motive  for  the  murder  (still 
according  to  Inspector  Timothy  Dixon)  was  very  sim- 
ple :  Edwards  was  a  partisan  of  Alderman  Samuel  Con- 
way  —  there  was  a  bitter  political  feud  between  Con- 
way  and  Murdock,  and  young  Edwards  had  thought 
to  serve  his  patron  and  gain  greater  favor  by  eliminat- 
ing Conway's  antagonist. 

Conway,  interviewed,  had  said  with  the  solemnity  of 
one  awed  by  sudden  death:  " Boys,  no  one  can  be  more 
sorry  over  this  than  I  am!  Murdock  and  I  had  our 
differences,  yes  —  but  they  were  personal  and  could 
have  been  smoothed  over.  Harry  Edwards  must  have 
got  an  exaggerated  idea  of  their  danger  to  me  —  and 
being  impetuous  he  must  have  thought  he  could  help 
me  this  way.  In  spite  of  what  he's  done,  I  want  to 
tell  you  that  he's  a  good,  square  chap."  Which  was 
a  fine,  generous,  upstanding  statement,  the  account 
declared. 

Edwards,  interviewed,  had  maintained  a  stolid  silence 
—  the  usual  stolidity,  so  the  paper  characterized  it,  of 
the  murderer  who  knows  that  his  least  words  may  in- 
criminate him. 

Jennie  was  dazed.  She  believed  every  word  of  the  ac- 
count —  it  was  so  simple,  so  convincing,  so  in  keeping 
with  just  what  Harry  would  do.  He  was  guilty  —  yes  — 
but  she  in  a  degree  was  also  responsible.  Her  refusal  had 
driven  him  to  it.  For  a  space  she  sat  staring  out  at  the 
Sound,  shivering,  a  wild  tearing  within  her.  He  was  a 
nice  boy,  she  liked  him  —  she  really  liked  him.  And 
she  had  driven  him  to  this!  And  for  such  a  deed,  with 
his  guilt  so  obvious,  she  knew  well  what  the  penalty 
would  be!  . 


266  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Trembling  all  through,  she  took  up  the  paper  and 
with  a  fearful  fascination  read  the  story  again,  and 
again,  and  again.  It  was  not  until  the  fourth  reading 
that  her  brain  caught  a  fragment  of  a  sentence  that  her 
frantic  eyes  had  thus  far  skimmed  over  without  seeing: 
"  The  victim,  leaving  Halloran's  cafe  at  9.15  .  .  ." 

She  straightened  up  with  a  jerk  and  a  gasp.  At 
9.15!  Why,  at  9.15  Harry  had  been  with  her  on  the  roof 
of  theGrantham! 

Then  Harry  had  not  done  it !  ... 

What,  then,  did  it  all  mean?  What  was  behind  it?  ... 

But  even  during  her  first  minutes  of  astounded  relief, 
even  while  she  first  began  to  try  to  peer  behind  the  event 
for  its  meaning,  she  perceived  a  fresh  aspect  to  the  af- 
fair, and  she  sank  back,  sickened  and  terrified  anew. 
For  whatever  it  might  mean,  her  life,  her  dreams,  were 
enmeshed  in  it  all.  The  more  she  examined  the  impli- 
cations of  the  situation,  the  more  she  looked  Jorward 
upon  its  possible  developments,  the  more  sickened  did 
she  become.  .  .  . 

At  length  she  could  stand  it  no  longer.  She  had  to 
know!  She  sprang  up,  dominated  by  a  desperate  de- 
termination. She  used  caution,  she  used  methods  she 
had  previously  used,  and  at  twelve  o'clock  she  was 
waiting  in  a  sitting-room  at  the  Plaza  when  Uncle 
George  entered.  There  was  a  rapid  talk  with  the  old 
man,  and  then  she  declared: 

"You  see  how  it  is.  I  simply  must  see  Harry  — 
somehow !  I  Ve  simply  got  to  know  at  first  hand  what 
his  situation  is  —  and  mine!" 

"  But  don't  you  see  the  danger  of  your  going  down  to 
the  Tombs?"  demanded  Uncle  George. 

"It's  no  greater  than  what  I'm  in  now,  not  under- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  267 

standing  what 's  going  to  happen.  Can't  you  manage  it, 
Uncle  George,  please?" 

"If  I  can't,  then  there  are  a  lot  of  used-to-be  friends 
down  there  who  are  n't  my  friends  any  longer.  Come 
on." 

Inside  the  taxi  Jennie  veiled  herself;  the  veil  was  the 
same  that  she  had  worn  to  her  Aunt  Mary's  burial,  and 
the  plain  dark  suit  she  had  changed  into  was  the  same 
she  had  then  worn.  Uncle  George  discussed  ways  and 
means  with  her  all  the  ride  down  to  the  dingy  granite 
building  with  its  heavily  grilled  windows  which  has  been 
the  stage  for  an  act  in  so  many  of  the  city's  dramas. 

"Wait  here  till  I  get  everything  fixed  up,"  Uncle 
George  whispered  as  he  got  out. 

She  drew  back  into  the  corner  of  the  taxi,  and  gazed 
out  at  the  grimy  building,  so  familiar  a  sight  of  her 
earlier  girlhood.  Harry  was  in  there  —  somewhere.  And 
it  came  to  her  that  long,  long  ago  her  father  had  lain 
within  those  same  gray,  implacable  walls  for  a  year  and 
more. 

Presently  Uncle  George  opened  the  door.  "It's  all 
right  —  come  on."  And  as  they  crossed  the  sidewalk: 
"I  think  I  Ve  got  it  fixed  so  we'll  not  meet  with  any 
of  the  newspaper  boys,  who'd  jump  out  of  their  skins 
to  mix  up  a  'mysterious  pretty  girl '  in  this  business." 

The  outer  door  of  the  Tombs  was  opened  to  them, 
and  they  were  admitted  into  a  big,  dingy  anteroom 
where  uniformed  clerks  scribbled  at  desks  and  keepers 
kept  in  line  the  huddled,  strained-faced  folk  who  had 
come  to  make  brief  visits  upon  relatives  or  friends 
confined  within.  All  her  senses  quickened  to  abnormal 
perception,  Jennie  took  in  everything  —  those  clerks 
forever  scratching  down  details  about  prisoners,  these 


268  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

silent,  huddling  visitors,  the  brusque,  herding  keepers: 
but  even  so,  she  had  no  slightest  prevision  of  that 
time,  in  the  unfolding  of  life,  when  she  was  to  look 
upon  this  same  scene  with  very  different  eyes  and  un- 
der circumstances  strangely  different. 

Just  as  passes  to  the  inner  prison  were  handed  them, 
Jennie  became  conscious  of  a  figure  immediately  behind 
her  that  wore  a  derby  hat,  and  had  a  heavy,  impassive 
face.  Her  brain  flashed  back  four  years;  a  yet  further 
fear  clutched  her. 

"Hello,  Uncle  George,"  said  the  man. 

"Hello,  Casey,"  replied  Uncle  George.  "That  was 
some  little  pinch  you  made  of  Edwards  last  night." 

"My  side  partner  really  picked  Edwards  off;  just 
called  me  in  to  help  him,"  replied  Casey. 

Here  in  this  great  jail  and  that  Casey  beside  her! 
With  her  every  sharp  breath  Jennie  expected  the  detec- 
tive's hand  to  fall  heavily  upon  her  shoulder.  But  Casey 
allowed  them  to  pass  on;  apparently  he  had  not  even 
seen  her. 

She  was  searched  by  two  matrons,  was  admitted 
through  a  little  wicket,  was  guided  through  a  corridor 
that  smelled  of  damp  darkness  and  ten  thousand  pris- 
oners, and  was  ushered  into  the  bare  counsel's  room 
and  the  grilled  door  was  locked  behind  her.  And  there 
was  Harry,  still  in  the  evening  clothes,  now  grimy  and 
disarrayed,  in  which  she  had  seen  him  hardly  more  than 
a  dozen  hours  before. 

"You ! "  he  exclaimed,  startled.  And  then,  straighten- 
ing up  stiffly,  he  demanded :  "Well,  what  do  you  want?" 

Now  that  she  was  here,  Jennie  hardly  knew  why:  she 
was  such  a  chaos  of  reasons  and  emotions. 

"Well,  what  do  you  want?"  he  repeated  brusquely. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  269 

She  glanced  behind  her  at  the  grilled  door.   But  a  bill 
slipped  to  the  keeper  by  Uncle  George  had  induced  that 
official  to  stroll  down  the  corridor  and  give  the  pair  a 
brief  privacy.  She  drew  nearer  Harry,  and  said  in  a  whis- 
per that  could  not  carry  beyond  the  door  of  steel: 
"Harry  —  you  never  did  it!" 
His  expression  was  blank.    "Oh,  I  did  n't?" 
"No.   When  it  was  done  you  were  with  me!" 
His  face  was  still  blank.    "Oh,  was  I?" 
Her  words,  the  thought  she  had  been  brooding  over 
since  she  had  read  the  butler's  paper  down  on  the  little 
beach,  now  came  out  with  a  rush.    "Don't  you  see  the 
whole  situation,  Harry?  "  she  cried.  "  I  believed  you  were 
guilty  when  I  first  read  the  newspaper.  It 's  so  complete 
and  convincing !  And  everybody  else  will  believe  it  —  and 
the  judge  will  believe  it  —  and  the  jury  will  believe  it. 
And,  Harry,  you  were  with  me  —  I  can  alibi  you  —  and 
I'm  the  only  person  who  can  alibi  you!" 

He  seemed  to  her  strangely  grim  and  inflexible  for 
Harry.  "Goon,"  he  said.  "  That 's  not  all  that 's  in  your 
mind." 

"No."  Her  voice  was  now  not  merely  low,  it  was 
weak.  "There's  my  side  of  it  all.  If  I  go  into  court  and 
alibi  you,  they'll  cross-question  me  —  and  it'll  all  come 
out  who  I  really  am  —  about  my  being  arrested  for  that 
old  forgery  —  about  my  running  away  from  Casey. 
Don't  you  see  what  a  story  the  papers  would  make  of  it! 
And  I  '11  lose  everything  dad 's  worked  for  and  wanted 
me  to  be  —  everything  I  've  —  everything  —  Don't  you 
see  it  all,  Harry?  " 

He  regarded  her  keenly  for  a  long  space.  Then  he 
spoke  calmly,  in  an  even  voice. 

"Yes,  I  think  I  see  it  all  as  you  see  it  in  your  mind. 


270  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

It's  a  big  predicament  for  Jennie  Malone;  it's  one  of 
two  things.  Either  you  don't  come  forward  and  alibi 
me,  and  you  keep  your  place  up  in  the  big  world.  Or  else 
you  do  alibi  me,  and  all  you  and  Black  Jerry  have  done, 
and  all  you  've  won,  goes  to  smash  for  you.  There  are 
the  two  sides  to  your  situation  —  yes?" 

"Yes.  Only  —  if  I  don't  alibi  you,  the  jury  will  find 
you  guilty  —  and  the  judge  will  —  oh,  Harry!  ...  I 
don't  understand  it  at  all!  I  don't  know  what  to  do!" 

A  swift  hope  leaped  into  the  face  he  had  kept  so  com- 
posed, and  he  seized  her  hand.  "Perhaps  we  can  sim- 
plify your  situation,  Jennie"  —his  voice  was  eager, 
vibrant  with  suspense  —  "if  you  were  to  alibi  me,  and 
you  were  to  lose  everything,  would  you  marry  me?" 

"Harry!"  she  said  faintly;  "I  thought  we'd  talked 
that  all  out." 

The  eagerness  died  out  of  his  face.  He  loosed  her  hand 
and  drew  himself  up  squarely. 

"I  knew  you  would  n't.  Then"  —  very  deliberately 
—  "  the  thing  for  you  to  do  is  to  go  back  to  the  Harrisons 
and  live  your  life  exactly  as  you  had  planned." 

"But  you,  Harry?" 

He  glanced  at  the  barred  door  to  be  sure  that  the 
keeper  was  not  listening.  "I'm  in  no  danger,"  he 
whispered;  "real  danger,  I  mean." 

"  I  knew  there  was  something  strange  about  all  this! " 
she  whispered  back.  "What  does  it  all  mean?" 

He  considered  for  a  moment.  "I'll  tell  you  a  little. 
It's  like  this:  another  man's  in  danger,  and  I'm  going 
to  stand  trial  in  his  place.  They  can't  prove  anything 
against  me  when  the  case  comes  to  trial  —  you  see,  the 
witnesses  will  have  disappeared  —  and  I' 11  go  free,  hav- 
ing helped  the  other  man.  See?" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  271 

"I  see!"  She  had  comprehended  it  in  a  flash.  Such 
arrangements,  "frame-ups"  against  the  police  and 
courts,  had  been  common  in  the  life  which  had  been  hers 
until  four  years  before.  "Harry  —  you  are  doing  it  to 
save  Sam  Conway!" 

"We'll  not  mention  any  names,  Jennie.  All  you 
need  to  know  is  that  I'm  not  in  any  danger.  And  I 
would  n't  have  told  you  this  much,  only  —  well,  if 
I  'm  not  to  have  you,  I  don't  want  you  to  have  any 
worries  on  my  account.  I  want  you  to  be  just  as  happy 
as  you  can  be.  And  as  for  me,  this  is  the  best  job  I  could 
do  —  and  I'm  not  going  to  mind  it  so  much,  and  it's 
going  to  come  out  all  right  for  me." 

The  keeper  appeared  without  and  announced  that  the 
allotted  time  was  ended.  Harry  took  her  hand. 

"I  guess  this  is  where  we  part  company  forever,"  he 
said  quietly.  "You'll  be  going  your  way,  and  I'll  be 
going  mine.  I  guess  it 's  up  to  all  of  us  to  live  our  lives 
in  our  own  way.  Well,  here's  wishing  you  the  best  of 
luck.  Good-bye." 

"Good-bye,"  she  said. 

The  door  closed  behind  her.  She  glanced  back.  De- 
spite the  cell,  despite  his  disordered,  incongruous  eve- 
ning clothes,  her  last  glimpse  of  Harry  gave  her  an 
impression  of  an  older,  a  more  manly  and  characterful 
figure  than  he  had  ever  been  in  her  mind. 

As  she  hurried  through  the  corridors  the  clang  of  each 
steel  door  behind  her  was  a  direct  impact  upon  her  raw 
nerves.  But  the  sharpest  impact  of  all  came  out  in  the 
street,  when  Uncle  George  was  helping  her  into  the  taxi. 
And  that  impact  was  merely  the  quietest  of  whispers 
sounding  close  against  her  ear : 

"I'm  still  hoping  you  make  good,  Jennie.   But,  re- 


272  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

member,  if  the  breaks  ever  go  against  you,  the  pinch 
belongs  to  me." 

She  went  chill.  That  voice  she  knew  only  too  well. 
With  a  great  effort  she  turned  about.  But,  his  back 
toward  her,  Detective  Sergeant  Casey  was  moving 
in  his  slow-footed  manner  toward  the  Criminal  Courts 
Building. 

Even  when  she  was  safely  back  in  the  luxury  and 
seclusion  of  Silver  Bluffs,  that  low,  even  voice  of  Casey 
kept  whispering  its  message  in  her  ears. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  GREAT  STEP 

HARRY'S  assurance  that  he  was  a  willing  party 
to  a  frame-up  brought  Jennie  relief.  But  a 
restlessness  of  soul  developed,  though  she  con- 
trolled all  external  manifestations  of  it.  She  had  won 
much,  very  much  —  but  she  was  not  satisfied  with  her- 
self; and  a  sense  of  uncertainty,  of  insecurity,  began  to 
fill  her  with  shadows.  She  was  finding  Life,  which  she 
had  believed  could  be  easily  managed  if  one  only  took 
the  proper  thought,  becoming  very  complex  and  show- 
ing hints  of  instability. 

So  it  was  that  when  Kenneth  began  to  urge  a  very 
early  marriage,  she  consented.  Marriage  would  bring 
order  and  security  out  of  all  this  complexity.  They 
at  once  began  the  business  of  house-hunting:  rather 
Kenneth  did  it  all  through  a  broker,  and  Jennie  had 
nothing  to  do  but  choose  between  the  two  apartments 
to  which  the  selection  had  already  been  sifted  down  — 
and  even  between  these  two  Kenneth  had  already  es- 
tablished his  preference  before  she  had  seen  either. 

She  was  rather  appalled  by  the  magnificence  of  his 
choice  the  afternoon  Kenneth  took  her  to  see  it.  De- 
spite herself,  as  she  stood  in  the  living-room,  there 
flashed  upon  her  the  contrast  between  this  large  room 
and  the  room  where  she  had  seen  Harry  but  a  few  days 
before. 

"Kenneth  —  fifteen  rooms  and  six  baths !  I  never  saw 
an  apartment  like  it!" 

"I  should  say  not,"  he  laughed.    "There  are  not 


274  ^  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

many  more  like  it  on  Park  Avenue  —  or  in  New  York, 
either." 

"But  we  don't  need  anything  so  large  the  first  year." 

"Oh,  yes,  we  do!"  He  put  his  arm  about  her.  "Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Kenneth  Harrison  will  be  doing  a  lot  of  enter- 
taining this  winter  —  and  we  can't  be  having  the  best 
people  of  New  York  at  any  cheap-John  place.  We're 
going  to  be  the  real  people  —  don't  you  forget  that!" 

The  best  people  of  New  York !  Yes,  that  was  where  she 
was  now  —  among  the  best  people  of  New  York.  And 
once  she  was  away  from  the  friendly  and  experienced 
guidance  of  Mrs.  Harrison  and  in  her  own  home,  she 
would  have  to  face  the  great  brilliant  world  all  alone. 
She  caught  a  sharp  breath.  Could  she  do  it?  ... 

When  he  told  her  the  yearly  rental  she  was  again 
taken  aback.  "Nine  thousand  dollars!"  she  breathed. 
"Kenneth,  can  we  —  you,  I  mean  —  afford  that  much 
just  for  rent?" 

He  laughed,  delighted  at  the  effect  of  it  all  upon  her. 
"The  rent's  nothing!"  And  then  he  explained:  "I'm 
not  going  to  bother  you  much  about  business,  Jennie, 
but  it 's  like  this :  I  guess  you  know  that  things  looked 
pretty  bad  for  the  firm  because  of  some  trouble  which 
threatened  Mr.  Conway  from  that  Mr.  Murdock  Ed- 
wards killed.  But  now  —  since  Conway  is  out  of  danger 
—  the  firm 's  in  better  shape  than  it  ever  was  before. 
And  besides,  I  'm  carrying  a  lot  of  stock  in  several  com- 
panies making  steel  —  and  the  stock 's  booming  and 
there's  going  to  be  a  tremendous  clean-up."  He  ended 
with  his  light,  half-humorous  laugh  at  himself.  "I 
ought  to  be  arrested ;  it 's  simply  scandalous  the  way 
I  'm  making  money  —  and  the  way  I  'm  going  to  make 
more  money!" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  275. 

She  had  winced  at  his  reference  to  Harry  as  Mur- 
dock's  slayer;  but  that  feeling  she  had  instantly  sup- 
pressed. After  all,  Kenneth  had  spoken  only  out  of  ig- 
norance. .  .  .  And  as  she  gazed  upon  him,  standing  there 
by  the  great  Italian  fireplace,  his  naturally  pale  face  a 
little  flushed  by  his  recital  of  business  success,  her  admi- 
ration of  him  so  mounted  that  she  was  almost  dizzy  with 
it.  He  was  so  handsome  —  so  at  his  ease  —  so  thoroughly 
a  man  of  the  great  world  —  and  so  marvelously  success- 
ful !  And  with  it  all,  he  was  still  only  twenty-nine! 

The  apartment  was  to  be  ready  for  occupancy  in 
October.  The  weeks  that  followed  were  largely  filled  for 
Jennie  with  visits  to  the  city  to  supervise,  with  Ken- 
neth and  his  mother,  the  decoration  and  to  purchase 
furnishings.  It  was  a  thrilling  experience,  this  making 
such  a  wonderful  home  —  so  thrilling,  so  consuming,  that 
she  was  hardly  aware  these  late  summer  days  of  1914 
that  war  had  just  then  lighted  its  giant  conflagration 
over  all  Europe.  .  .  . 

When  Kenneth  had  pressed  an  early  marriage,  Jennie 
had  made  only  one  definite  request.  This  was  that  the 
marriage  should  be  as  quiet  as  a  marriage  could  be.  She 
gave  her  reasons  —  of  course  not  her  real  ones.  She  had 
had  no  pictures  taken  since  she  had  left  the  Pekin ;  and 
she  knew  that  at  a  show-wedding  there  would  be  re- 
porters and  also  unfoilable  men  snapping  their  cameras. 
She  felt  safe  after  so  many  years;  but  all  the  same  she 
did  not  want  her  face  appearing  in  millions  of  New  York 
papers  —  not  just  yet. 

There  was  no  trouble  over  this  request  for  a  quiet 
wedding.  Kenneth  consented  and  Mrs.  Harrison 
thought  the  idea  most  sensible,  and  it  increased  her  es- 
teem for  Jennie.  Jennie,  planning  with  utmost  caution 


276  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

these  final  details  of  her  transformation,  made  another 
suggestion  to  Kenneth.  It  seemed  to  him  a  mere  whim, 
but  at  the  same  time  he  saw  no  reason  why  he  should 
not  gratify  it:  so  one  September  day  the  two  of  them 
motored  into  the  interior  of  New  York  to  a  county  seat 
where  records  are  not  too  closely  watched  over  by  re- 
porters and  their  data  telegraphed  to  the  great  city. 

Jennie  had  thought  over  one  last  item  very  care- 
fully, and  as  they  stood  before  the  license  clerk  she  re- 
marked : 

"Oh,  there's  one  thing,  Kenneth,  I'd  almost  for- 
gotten. Miller  was  my  uncle's  name  and  I  was  always 
-called  that,  but  he  never  really  adopted  me.  My 
father's  name  was  Malone  —  so  I  suppose  my  legal 
name  is  Jennie  Malone." 

"Lucky  you  remembered  to  mention  it,"  said  Ken- 
neth —  and  after  the  next  few  minutes  it  had  passed 
out  of  his  mind  as  a  matter  of  no  consequence. 

And  so  on  the  records  she  was  married  as  "Jennie 
Malone."  The  announcements,  however,  which  had 
been  prepared  by  Mrs.  Harrison  gave  her  name  as 
"Jennie  Miller"  —  and  the  next  day  the  marriage  of 
Jennie  Miller  and  Kenneth  Harrison  filled  consider- 
able space  in  the  New  York  papers,  though  unfortu- 
nately there  were  no  pictures  of  the  young  bride. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  SUPREME  PLAN 

EARLY  in  November  Jennie  and  Kenneth  were 
settled  in  their  apartment  on  Park  Avenue  and 
had  begun  to  take  part  in  the  preliminary  ac- 
tivities of  the  social  season.  But  already  the  wonder  of 
the  apartment,  which  had  so  overwhelmed  Jennie  when 
she  first  had  seen  it  in  August,  and  of  all  the  apartment 
symbolized,  had  almost  abated.  With  Jennie  it  was  as 
it  ever  is  with  those  who  are  ambitious,  who  are  ener- 
getic, who  quickly  adapt  themselves ;  the  daring  aspira- 
tion, once  it  is  achieved,  swiftly  settles  into  an  accepted 
and  almost  commonplace  fact  of  life,  and  becomes  in  its 
turn  merely  the  taking-off  point  for  another  flight  into 
yet  higher  realms.  By  the  day  she  began  living  in 
it  Jennie  was  accustomed  —  almost,  that  is  —  to  her 
wondrously  lofty  home,  and  within  the  privacy  of  her 
smooth,  girlish  forehead  she  already  had  plans  look- 
ing far  into  the  future. 

Even  during  the  bewildering  days  following  her  un- 
expected engagement,  she  had  dimly  perceived  a  cer- 
tain distant  contingency,  and  she  had  reached  a  cer- 
tain conclusion;  and  after  her  marriage  all  her  thinking 
along  this  line  had  made  that  conclusion  seem  more  wise 
and  necessary.  Her  conclusion  was  that  as  a  wife  she 
had  to  be  the  most  successful  wife  possible :  to  be  less 
might  be  failure.  She  knew  that  Kenneth  was  infatu- 
ated with  her  just  then;  but  she  had  enough  of  a  mature 
woman's  wisdom  —  in  her  case  it  was  as  much  precocity 
as  it  was  the  remembrance  of  the  roughly  direct  human 


278  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

nature  of  her  early  youth  —  to  know  that  after  a  year, 
or  even  less,  the  thrill  and  glamour  of  the  initial  infatu- 
ation may  begin  to  subside  and  the  man  inevitably  may 
begin  to  reckon  the  material  consequence  of  what  he  has 
done.  She  realized  that  Kenneth,  in  marrying  her  in 
stead  of  Gloria,  or  Gloria's  equivalent,  had  sacrificed 
both  wealth  and  assured  social  position  which  such  a 
wife  would  have  brought  as  dowry.  And  she  realized, 
should  Kenneth's  ardor  once  begin  to  cool,  that  he 
would  inevitably  recognize  this  sacrifice. 

Well  —  she  was  going  to  make  up  to  Kenneth  in  some 
other  form  for  the  wealth  and  the  social  position  she  had 
not  brought  him.  She  was  more  than  going  to  makd  up 
for  it!  —  and  she  was  going  to  do  it  quickly!  Kenneth 
should  never  have  a  chance  to  regret ! 

Theirs  had  been  an  unusual  honeymoon,  considering 
their  great  resources  for  leisure  and  luxurious  journey- 
ing. When  the  time  of  the  marriage  had  been  decided 
on,  Kenneth  had  begun  to  suggest  alluring  retreats  for 
their  bridal  seclusion ;  but  Jennie  had  said  that  she  pre- 
ferred to  stay  right  there  at  Silver  Bluffs,  provided,  of 
course,  his  mother  was  willing.  Kenneth  had  demurred, 
and  then  had  yielded.  Since  she  wished  it  thus,  the  ar- 
rangement secretly  pleased  him.  Business  America  was 
in  a  turmoil  consequent  upon  the  vast  furnishing  of 
supplies  to  the  Allies :  there  were  great  contracts  to  be 
let  —  commissions  —  the  building  of  new  factories,  and 
the  remodeling  of  old  ones,  for  munition  making  —  the 
wild  jumps  in  war  stocks  —  limitless  speculation  — 
great  fortunes  made  in  a  week  —  some  wiped  out  in  a 
day.  In  view  of  his  many  interests,  Kenneth  consid- 
ered it  fortunate  that  he  was  placed  where  he  could  act 
upon  the  instant. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  279 

The  days  of  her  engagement  and  her  honeymoon 
Jennie  spent  in  unostentatiously  working  at  her  unan- 
nounced plan  to  become  a  brilliantly  successful  wife. 
The  work  was  tedious  and  tiresome  at  times,  since  it 
dealt  with  fundamentals  which  would  render  her  compe- 
tent, but  which  in  themselves  would  never  be  scintillant 
—  perhaps  they  might  even  be  taken  for  granted  and 
never  be  noticed  at  all.  But  she  never  wavered  in  her 
plan,  and  at  the  same  time  she  never  let  it  interfere  with 
Kenneth's  being  constantly  with  her  when  he  was  at 
home.  While  he  was  away  she  went  to  school  to  Mrs. 
Harrison,  who  was  her  delighted  teacher.  She  studied 
Mrs.  Harrison's  method  of  managing  servants;  Mrs. 
Harrison,  thoughtful  and  considerate  and  yet  never 
relaxing  her  pleasant  authority,  had  rendered  non- 
existent the  servant  problem  in  her  household.  Jennie 
studied  buying,  and  all  the  details  of  household  manage- 
ment; and  most  important  of  all,  from  the  standpoint  of 
its  direct  influence  upon  Kenneth,  she  was  constantly 
with  Mrs.  Harrison  and  her  housekeeper  when  they 
were  planning  and  arranging  for  week-end  parties  and 
other  social  affairs.  In  brief,  Jennie  took  a  concen- 
trated course  in  domestic  science  —  domestic  science, 
that  is,  as  it  pertains  to  the  households  of  the  rich. 

And  this  was  not  all.  The  decorating  and  furnishing 
of  the  Park  Avenue  apartment  had  been  placed  in  the 
hands  of  a  well-known  woman  interior  decorator.  Jen- 
nie came  to  a  business  understanding  with  Miss  How- 
ard, involving  the  private  payment  of  a  special  pro- 
fessional fee;  and  as  often  as  she  could  get  away  from 
Silver  Bluffs  she  was  in  the  city  with  Miss  Howard. 
She  was  told  about  materials  and  their  art  signifi- 
cance, and  she  was  inducted  into  the  mysteries  of  color 


2  8  o  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

relationships;  and  also  she  was  told  in  detail  about 
the  furniture  as  it  came  in.  In  the  end  her  knowledge 
was  neither  wide  nor  deep ;  but  nevertheless,  she  knew 
more  about  how  to  keep  her  home  in  good  taste,  and  to 
make  it  seem  even  distinguished  to  the  critical  and  cul- 
tured guest,  than  do  ninety-nine  per  cent  of  young 
brides  whom  the  marriage  vow  makes  mistresses  of  pre- 
tentious establishments. 

All  this  was  the  hardest  kind  of  routine  work;  nothing 
could  have  been  in  itself  less  spectacular.  But  she  never 
lost  her  energy,  and  never  showed  lack  of  spirit  or  fresh- 
ness before  Kenneth.  What  kept  her  going  was  the  be- 
lief that  she  was  building  solidly  for  the  future ;  that 
though  the  preparations  were  difficult  and  obscure,  the 
structure  was  to  be  glorious. 

She  had  some  reward  for  her  period  of  surreptitious 
labor  when  the  last  guest  had  gone  after  the  ordeal  of 
their  first  dinner-party  in  the  new  apartment. 

"I  say,  Jennie,  you  were  simply  splendid!"  cried 
Kenneth,  with  an  excitement  unusual  in  him,  taking  her 
in  his  arms.  "Why,  mother  at  forty-five  never  ran  off 
a  dinner  more  smoothly  —  and  this  is  your  first  dinner 
and  you  're  hardly  twenty-one.  And  the  way  you  kept 
things  going !  —  everybody  interested  in  each  other,  I 
mean.  I  say,  where  did  you  get  on  to  such  a  lot  of 
things?" 

She  laughed.  "Oh,  I  was  born  with  one  of  those  Uni- 
versal Compendiums  of  Drawing-Room  Manners  and 
Dinner- Party  Conversation  in  my  mouth." 

He  ignored  her  banter;  after  all,  he  was  primarily  in- 
terested not  in  where  and  how  she  had  learned  how  to 
do  it,  but  in  the  fact  that  she  could  do  it.  "You  were 
simply  splendid!1'  he  repeated.  "I  had  no  idea  you 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  281 

would  be  able  to  handle  things  so  well  at  the  very  start. 
Why,"  he  went  on  enthusiastically,  "with  your  being  so 
clever,  there's  no  reason  why  we  should  n't  get  right 
into  the  biggest  sort  of  things.  Jennie,  I  can't  tell  you 
how  proud  I  am  of  you!" 

He  kissed  her.  Jennie  sensed  that  his  infatuation  for 
her  was  just  as  high  as  when  on  that  afternoon  down 
on  the  end  of  the  stone  pier  at  Silver  Bluffs  he  had 
proposed  to  her. 

Yes,  this  was  reward  for  her  patient,  surreptitious 
labor  —  this  was  triumph.  But  this  was  little,  indeed, 
compared  to  the  triumphs  that  would  result  from  yet 
further  plans  which  but  recently  had  been  taking  more 
definite  shape. 

Since  her  marriage,  and  more  concretely  during  the 
weeks  since  they  had  actively  entered  the  social  life  of 
New  York,  the  alert  brain  of  Jennie,  which  permitted  no 
values  to  escape  it  and  not  even  slight  differentiations  of 
value,  had  perceived  that  though  the  social  position  of 
the  Harrisons  was  undeniably  lofty  —  lofty  even  be- 
yond her  possible  attainment,  it  once  had  seemed  to 
her  —  yet  above  the  Harrisons  there  was  a  stratum  or 
two  of  the  especially  elect.  Even  the  popular  Kenneth, 
though  when  a  bachelor  admitted  to  these  strata,  did 
not  really  belong.  And  she  had  so  far  penetrated  the  ex- 
terior of  smiling  nonchalance  of  her  husband  to  know 
that  one  of  his  ambitions  was  to  be  a  recognized  citizen 
of  this  highest  realm. 

Well  —  somehow  she  was  going  to  win  her  way  to  a 
place  among  the  loftiest  of  the  elect.  How  she  was  going 
to  do  it  she  did  not  yet  know ;  but  she  was  going  to  do  it 
—  she  was  sure  of  that !  And  she  was  going  to  do  it 
quickly.  And  in  going  to  the  very  top  she  was  going  to 


28s  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

carry  Kenneth  with  her.  This  was  to  be  another  thing 
she  was  going  to  do  for  him.  No  —  Kenneth  was  never 
going  to  have  reason  for  once  thinking  of  what  another 
girl  might  have  brought  him. 

And  at  about  this  time  her  general  campaign  devel- 
oped yet  another  major  operation.  Now  that  her  rela- 
tionship with  Kenneth  was  more  intimate,  she  began  to 
detect  in  him  signs  of  dissatisfaction.  They  were  little 
things,  what  she  saw  —  but  they  might  have  a  great 
meaning.  She  wondered  what  that  meaning  might  be. 
Was  he,  after  all,  beginning  thus  early  to  be  dissatisfied 
with  her?  She  studied  the  signs,  she  tried  him  with  deft 
questions  —  but  the  mystery  remained  a  mystery,  and 
grew,  and  a  suspense  which  had  crept  into  her  grew 
with  it. 

And  then  this  mystery  was  discovered  to  her  in  its 
full  and  sharply  defined  outlines  after  a  Belgian  Relief 
Ball :  —  this  was  the  period  when  society  had  just  begun 
its  flurry  of  dancing  pleasantly  for  the  benefit  of  foreign 
widows  and  orphans.  At  this  ball  Jennie  had  danced 
twice  with  a  square-shouldered,  square-chinned  man 
whose  name  she  had  merely  caught  as  Shipman  and 
whose  chief  impression  on  Jennie  at  the  time  had  been 
of  a  remarkable  vigor  for  a  man  of  his  obvious  middle 
years.  On  the  homeward  ride  Kenneth's  mind  was 
turned  inward  and  he  hardly  spoke,  but  during  the 
brief  period  in  which  they  usually  relaxed  in  front  of  the 
open  fire  before  going  to  bed,  he  emerged  from  his  ab- 
sorbed brooding  and  abruptly  asked : 

' '  What  did  Shipman  say  while  you  were  dancing  with 
him?" 

"Nothing  that  I  remember,"  she  answered  carelessly, 

"What  did  you  say  to  him?" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  283 

"The  usual  dance  talk —  I  really  don't  remember." 

She  covered  a  little  yawn. 

The  careless  matter-of-factness  with  which  she  re- 
garded his  inquiries  caused  him  to  lean  sharply  forward 
and  stare.  "Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  did  n't  know 
whom  you  were  dancing  with?" 

"Only  that  he  was  Mr.  Shipman." 

"Only  Mr.  Shipman!"  Kenneth  exclaimed  incredu- 
lously. "Well,  your  'only  Mr.  Shipman'  is  Daniel  Ship- 
man, the  real  head  of  Phillips,  Everson  and  Company 
—  the  biggest  bankers  in  America.  And  Phillips,  Ever- 
son and  Company  are  handling  practically  all  the  loans 
the  Allies  are  trying  to  float  in  this  country  —  and  they 
are  the  chief  purchasing  agents  of  the  Allies  in  America. 
And  Daniel  Shipman  is  really  the  firm.  He's  only  just 
about  everybody  —  that's  all  that  Daniel  Shipman  is!" 

"Why,  Kenneth,"  she  breathed,  "I  had  no  idea  he 
was  such  a  great  man!" 

He  ignored  her  remark  —  perhaps  he  did  not  really 
hear  it.  The  flood  of  excited  words  about  Shipman 
broke  down  the  invisible  dam  of  insouciant  reserve  he 
had  builded  to  hold  back  his  soul,  and  what  he  had  been 
silently  brooding  upon  this  last  half-hour  rushed  past 
his  lips. 

"Why,  if  in  some  way  I  could  get  into  Shipman's 
crowd,  especially  in  these  times,  there 'd  be  nothing  too 
big  for  me  to  hope  for!" 

It  was  Jennie's  turn  to  stare.  "Kenneth  —  why  — 
why  —  I  thought  you  and  your  father  were  doing  won- 
derful business!" 

"We  are!"  he  exclaimed  impatiently.  He  was  not 
so  much  speaking  to  her  as  giving  freedom  to  his  secret 
thoughts.  "But  we're  in  the  construction  business. 


284  »A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

That's  all  right  in  its  way.  But  even  if  a  man  works  his 
head  off,  and  reaches  the  top,  reaches  the  very  limits 
of  the  possibilities  in  the  business,  why,  even  then  he 's 
only  a  big  man  in  the  second  or  third  rank  of  business 
men.  By  no  chance  can  he  become  one  of  the  big  men 
of  the  first  rank  of  big  men.  The  financial  game  is  the 
only  game  in  which  a  man  has  a  chance  to  do  that.  God ! 
if  somehow  I  could  only  get  connected  up  with  Ship- 
man  —  then  I  'd  show  you  all ! " 

He  was  now  striding  excitedly  up  and  down  in  front 
of  the  great  Italianesque  fireplace,  with  its  bed  of  glow- 
ing hickory  embers  —  and  for  the  moment  Jennie  was 
almost  forgotten.  She  gazed  at  him  in  amazement. 
What  he  had  said  about  the  limitations  of  Harrison  and 
Company  was  entirely  new  to  her,  though  doubtless  it 
was  true,  and  this  sudden  revelation  of  the  man  who 
lived  within  her  husband  was  even  more  amazing. 
Why,  he  was  the  very  passion  of  ambition  —  which  per- 
ceived no  place  of  rest  or  contentment  lower  than  the 
crest  of  the  topmost  peak.  Kenneth  saw  her  look,  and 
it  caused  him  to  check  his  excited  pacing.  He  smiled  and 
laughed  lightly;  but  both  smile  and  laugh  were  forced. 

"  I  guess  my  tongue  must  have  gone  out  of  its  mind," 
he  said.  "  Be  good,  Jennie,  and  forget  my  chatter;  even 
wise  people  run  off  the  track  sometimes  and  talk  non- 
sense." And  then  he  dismissed  the  matter  casually  with : 
"It's  hall-past  two  —  time  country  people  like  us  were 
getting  to  bed." 

She  replied  with  an  equally  casual  remark;  but  she 
knew  that  the  real  soul  —  or  part  of  it  —  of  her  hus- 
band had  been  laid  bare  to  her.  Alone  in  her  bedroom 
—  they  had  separate  sleeping-rooms  —  she  lay  recon- 
sidering and  readjusting  her  great  plans.  She  was  going 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  285 

to  get  Kenneth  connected  with  Mr.  Shipman !  How  she 
did  not  then  consider  —  but  she  could  find  a  way.  She 
had  achieved  many  things  that,  viewed  from  the  stand- 
point of  a  few  years  hack,  would  have  seemed  impos- 
sible; and  now  in  her  youthful  confidence  nothing 
seemed  beyond  her. 

No,  of  a  certainty,  Kenneth  would  never  have  cause 
for  regret! 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

JENNIE  CONSOLIDATES  HER  GAINS 

IT  is  doubtful  if  Jennie,  in  any  other  American 
epoch,  could  have  achieved  with  such  rapidity  the 
social  success  she  was  to  win  that  winter.  Her 
young  life  was  launched  into  a  period  and  a  condition 
without  a  parallel  —  that  period  of  hectic  activity  in 
both  social  affairs  and  in  business,  which  will  forever  re- 
main one  of  the  remarkable  phases  in  the  history  of 
America's  connection  with  the  Great  War.  The  social 
and  the  financial  speculator  were  sweeping  upward  on 
the  wave  of  golden  promise.  America  had  not  yet  awak- 
ened to  her  moral  responsibilities  and  her  stakes  in  the 
war,  as  she  later  was  to  do.  To  be  sure,  some  few  of  the 
younger  Americans  were  driving  ambulances  behind  the 
lines  in  France,  a  fewer  were  begging  to  be  fighters  in 
the  air,  and  a  few  were  enlisted  with  the  French,  English, 
and  Canadian  forces.  But  on  the  whole,  the  war  was 
still  regarded  as  none  of  America's  affair  —  except  to  the 
extent  that,  as  a  business  proposition,  we  tried  to  supply 
war's  business  needs,  and  except  as  its  victims  were  ap- 
pealing subjects  for  our  charity.  Otherwise,  we  were 
more  diligent  in  business,  and  the  easy  dollar  piled  up 
more  rapidly,  than  in  the  memory  of  living  man  —  and 
dance  orchestras  and  caterers  never  before  so  nearly 
approached  millionairedom  and  nervous  prostration. 

Society,  while  it  had  not  as  yet  adopted  relief  of  Eu- 
ropean war  victims  as  the  sole  purpose  of  its  functions, 
was  giving  an  increasing  proportion  of  its  more  preten- 
tious affairs  in  the  name  of  stricken  Europe.  The  re- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  287 

suit  of  this  was  that  society  had  to  go  outside  its  very 
select  and  limited  numbers  to  secure  assistance;  men 
and  women,  particularly  women,  had  to  be  enlisted  who 
had  the  willingness  to  undertake  tasks  and  the  tenacity 
to  see  them  through,  and  who,  moreover,  had  initiative 
and  ideas.  To  an  extent,  the  barriers  were  lowered;  the 
first  and  second  cousins  of  society  were  admitted,  and 
even  outsiders;  and  in  this  enlarged  group,  where  effi- 
cient activity  was  in  such  demand,  the  person  who  could 
do  things  was  the  person  who  won  attention  and  who 
advanced. 

This  is  not  primarily  a  history  of  Jennie's  social 
achievements.  Therefore  this  history  cannot  concern  it- 
self with  the  many  details  of  Jennie's  rise  during  that 
winter;  nor  can  it  concern  itself  with  each  of  the  many 
figures  of  her  great  world  whom  she  was  now  meeting 
daily  and  with  whom  this  phase  of  her  life  was  intricately 
involved.  Given  the  chance,  Jennie  was  bound  to  rise 
—  and  Jennie  had  the  chance.  She  could  dance,  she 
could  sing,  she  could  manage  booths,  she  had  a  ready 
mind  which  enabled  her  to  meet  those  unexpected  situa- 
tions which  are  always  arising  —  and  despite  her  will- 
ingness she  seemed  personally  unaggressive,  always 
good-humored,  always  reliable,  always  patient.  She  be- 
gan to  be  regarded  as  a  "find." 

Among  those  who  led  in  society,  Jennie  particularly 
was  aware  of  the  eminence  of  Mrs.  Shipman,  the  wife 
of  the  banker,  and  particularly  did  she  set  about  to  gain 
that  lady's  recognition.  Two  or  three  times  Mrs.  Ship- 
man spoke  pleasantly  if  briefly  to  her.  But  the  first  sign 
of  success  was  that  lady's  asking  her  to  be  a  figure  in 
one  of  the  tableaus  in  the  War  Bazaar  she  was  giving  in 
a  few  weeks.  To  be  sure,  the  figure  suggested  to  her  was 


288  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

not  important  —  but  she  was  getting  on!  She  met  Mr. 
Shipman  occasionally  at  balls  and  at  dinners ;  and  not 
again  did  she  carelessly  throw  away  her  opportunities  as 
she  had  done  at  their  first  meeting.  She  studied  him,  and 
studied  to  please  him.  She  decided  to  be  good-naturedly, 
girlishly  serious  with  him;  and  she  knew  she  acted  the 
part  well.  She  thought  he  was  beginning  to  like  her  — 
a  little,  at  any  rate.  She  was  getting  on  there,  too!  — 
if  only  in  the  preliminary  stages. 

By  the  middle  of  that  winter,  people  began  to  talk 
about  "those  young  Harrisons,"  and  particularly  about 
"that  pretty,  clever,  and  unspoiled  Mrs.  Harrison."  In 
speaking  of  her  some  of  the  discerning  older  women 
compared  her  to  this  or  that  highly  important  woman 
who  had  first  appeared  on  society's  fringes  as  an  ob- 
scure figure  from  the  outland.  Mark  their  word,  this 
young  Mrs.  Harrison  was  some  day  also  going  to  be  an 
important  person. 

Jennie  was  exultant  chiefly  on  Kenneth's  account: 
because  of  the  bearing  success  had  had  upon  her  re- 
lationship with  him.  She  knew  that  he  was  pleased, 
though  only  occasionally  did  he  speak  freely  and  fully 
of  what  she  was  achieving.  But  if  Kenneth  did  not  give 
full  acknowledgment,  his  mother  did.  One  evening 
when  she  and  Kenneth  had  had  family  dinner  at  the 
house  in  the  East  Seventies,  the  older  woman,  up  in 
her  sitting-room,  had  exclaimed,  her  blue  eyes  warm 
with  enthusiasm  and  affection: 

"Jennie,  I  believed  you  were  going  to  make  a  remark- 
able wife  for  Kenneth  —  but  you  've  been  even  more 
remarkable  than  I  dreamed.  Oh,  I've  been  watching 
you  closely,  my  dear  —  every  mother  is  a  born  spy. 
You  manage  your  house  amazingly  well  for  so  young  a 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  289 

wife  —  and  a  home  he  can  be  proud  of  will  always  be 
effective  with  Kenneth.  And  the  way  you  are  getting 
on  in  society!  I  don't  care  a  great  deal  for  society  my- 
self —  but  I  know,  for  all  his  indifference,  it  means  a 
great  deal  to  Kenneth.  Just  as  I  thought  you  would, 
you  are  proving  to  be  exactly  the  right  wife  for  him." 
And  then  she  added  reminiscently :  "I  might  possibly 
once  have  become  somebody  in  society  if  I  had  cared  — 
but  I  never  could  possibly  have  become  what  you  are 
going  to  become.  Never,  my  dear!" 

"I'm  sore  at  her,"  grumbled  Sue,  who  soon  was  to 
become  Mrs.  William  Grayson.  "Nobody  pays  any 
attention  to  me  at  all  when  Jennie  is  in  the  same  hemi- 
sphere." The  warm  hug  with  which  Sue  ended  this 
complaint  was  proof  that  jealousy  did  not  exist  in  Sue's 
generous  nature. 

"I'm  more  sure  than  ever,  Jennie,"  Mrs.  Harrison 
declared,  "that  you  are  going  to  make  a  fine  big  man 
out  of  Kenneth  —  and  help  him  to  the  sort  of  success 
his  heart  desires!" 

Jennie  glowed  at  the  praise  and  affection  of  these  two 
sincere  women.  She  had  long  since  discounted  the  de- 
ception which  had  been  practiced,  so  she  now  felt  no 
twinges  of  guilt.  Whatever  might  have  been  in  the  long 
ago,  she  now  was  trying  to  build  solidly ;  she  was  trying 
to  do  her  very  best  for  Kenneth ;  and  the  words  of  Ken- 
neth's mother  and  sister  were  the  highest  recognition 
that  her  achievements  were  solid  and  of  a  truly  helpful 
character. 

During  this  swift-mounting  period  there  was  so  much 
in  Jennie's  life  that  its  single  events  lost  their  identity 
in  a  blurred  but  glorious  whole.  But  there  was  one  in- 
cident —  rather,  a  few  scenes  —  which  did  remain  in  her 


290  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

mind.  This  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  time,  since 
that  night  at  Silver  Bluffs,  that  she  had  seen  Ken- 
neth and  Slim  Jackson  in  the  same  company.  Slim  was 
not  a  member  of  the  original  party  —  a  little  supper 
dance  at  Sherry's  —  but  at  midnight  Jennie  noted  that 
he  was  present :  debonair,  gracefully  at  ease  as  always, 
and  welcomed  too.  A  little  later,  apart  from  the  milling 
of  the  dance,  she  saw  Kenneth  with  an  arm  on  Slim's 
shoulder,  talking  with  intimate  earnestness. 

Presently  she  was  dancing  with  Slim.  "I  saw  you 
talking  to  Kenneth  just  as  though  you  were  old  friends," 
she  whispered.  "What  does  it  mean?" 

There  was  an  amused,  provoking  smile  in  his  gray 
eyes.  "Oh,  Kenneth  and  I  are  better  friends  than  ever 
—  didn't  you  know?"  Then  he  added,  in  a  guarded 
voice,  "This  part  of  it  also  has  worked  out  exactly  as 
I  told  you  it  would  that  night  last  summer.  I  said  to 
you  then  that  though  Kenneth  hated  me  at  the  time, 
after  a  while  he  'd  come  to  realize  that  I  'd  really  done 
him  a  great  service.  He  has  n't  said  this  in  so  many 
words,  but  that 's  exactly  the  way  he  feels.  So  I  'm  ace- 
high  with  Kenneth,  and  we're  back  together  on  those 
business  stunts  I  once  mentioned  to  you,  and  one  or 
two  besides." 

His  lean  face  was  smiling,  triumphant  —  teasing. 
At  this  particular  moment  she  felt  no  personal  fear  of 
him  as  she  had  done  before ;  but  she  did  catch  her  breath 
a  bit  at  his  astute  power,  and  at  the  exactitude  with 
which  his  plans  came  to  pass. 

"And  the  other  things  you  said  were  going  to  come 
about,  the  things  you  did  n't  want  to  specify  —  have 
they  happened  too?"  she  whispered. 

"Some  of  them  —  but  not  all,"  he  replied,  a  bit  myg- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  291 

teriously.  "All  are  not  due  to  happen  yet  —  the  time's 
not  come  —  but  all  will  happen."  He  bent  closer  to 
her  ear,  and  whispered  admiringly.  "But  one  thing 
has  happened  even  bigger  than  I  thought,  Jen  —  and 
that's  you.  The  way  you've  put  yourself  across  is  sim- 
ply a  marvel!"  He  chuckled.  "We've  sure  come  along 
a  bit,  Jennie  —  you  and  I.  God!  if  Black  Jerry  and  the 
old  bunch  down  at  the  Pekin  could  only  see  us  now!" 

She  did  not  answer.  When  the  music  ceased,  there 
at  her  shoulder  stood  Gloria,  who  must  have  entered 
during  the  dance;  and  Gloria  was  looking  directly  at 
her.  This  was  also  the  first  time  she  had  seen  Gloria 
since  that  historic  night  at  Silver  Bluffs.  Jennie  looked 
back  at  Gloria,  remembering  Gloria's  threat  and  won- 
dering what  Gloria  was  going  to  do.  The  pause  while 
their  looks  held  was  only  for  a  moment ;  then  Gloria  said 
in  as  friendly  a  voice  as  she  ever  used : 

"Hello,  Jennie.  Been  out  of  town  for  several  months 
—  Adirondacks  —  Asheville  —  Florida  —  and  this  is 
the  first  chance  I  've  had  to  congratulate  you  —  face  to 
face.  Never  write  letters,  you  know.  But  I  do  con- 
gratulate you.  And  I  hear  that  of  the  new  wives  of  the 
season,  you're  getting  all  the  blue  ribbons.  So  I  con- 
gratulate you  again." 

"Thank  you."  If  Gloria  was  easy  and  self-possessed, 
Jennie  was  no  less  so. 

"By  the  way,  Jennie,  I've  been  asked  by  Mrs.  Ship- 
man  to  put  on  a  little  act  at  the  bazaar  she's  giving. 
I  wish  you'd  join  in  and  help  me." 

"I  can't,  Gloria.  I  have  already  promised  to  help 
her  in  something  else." 

"That's  good.  Then  we'll  be  seeing  each  other  just 
the  same." 


292  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

They  chatted  on  about  inconsequent  matters  for  a 
few  moments,  Gloria  as  striking  a  figure,  in  her  bold 
fashion,  as  in  other  days.  Slim  stood  beside  them  with 
a  sober  but  satirical  face.  And  all  this  brief  while  Jennie 
was  studying  her  old  antagonist,  and  wondering  what 
was  behind  her  manner  of  good  fellowship.  This  much 
she  knew  —  that  Gloria,  when  she  could  control  her  tem- 
per and  suppress  her  ego  (which  occasionally  she  did), 
had  a  fair  portion  of  what  the  sophisticated  world  con- 
siders good  sense  and  was  a  moderately  good  actress ; 
and  Jennie  also  knew  Gloria  realized  that  their  worlds 
were  now  the  same  and  that  Jennie  could  no  longer  be 
snubbed  or  patronized.  So  much  Jennie  knew;  beyond 
that  she  could  only  guess. 

While  they  chatted  Kenneth  came  up.  Gloria  con- 
gratulated him  on  his  marriage  just  as  though  there 
had  never  been  anything  between  them.  Kenneth,  after 
an  instant  of  stiffness,  responded  politely. 

The  music  started  up.  Without  a  word  Slim  swept 
Jennie  away,  and  she  saw  Kenneth  and  Gloria  fall  into 
step.  After  a  moment  Slim  chuckled  softly  in  Jen- 
nie's ear. 

' '  That  was  a  fine  piece  of  drawing-room  comedy  acting 
between  you  two  young  dames." 

"I  was  n't  acting,"  returned  Jennie. 

"No?"  There  was  irony  in  Slim's  soft  laugh.  "Well, 
if  you  were  not,  Gloria  was.  And  listen  to  an  old  play- 
mate, Jen:  Gloria  will  smile  just  like  that  and  talk  just 
like  that,  so  long  as  you  are  on  top.  You  're  too  much 
of  a  hit  for  her  not  to  be  nice  to  you.  But  that  darling 
child  has  n't  forgotten  a  thing  —  and  she  carries  a  gun 
in  her  kick  —  and  she's  just  waiting  for  her  chance.  So 
look  out,  my  dear!" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  293 

Abruptly,  teasingly  —  there  was  always  something 
of  the  imp  in  Slim  —  he  changed  the  subject.  "Look 
over  there  at  Gloria  and  Kenneth.  They  do  make  a 
fine-looking  couple,  yes?  Do  you  wonder  at  it  if,  beneath 
it  all,  Gloria  should  be  a  bit  sore?" 

Jennie  looked.  She  had  to  admit  that  Gloria  and 
Kenneth  were  a  striking  pair.  And  it  did  seem  to  her 
that  Kenneth  was  just  a  little  less  formal  than  the  cir- 
cumstances should  have  made  him.  But  she  made  no 
reply  to  Slim's  comment. 

In  their  car  on  the  ride  home  Kenneth  brought 
up  the  subject  of  that  evening's  meetings.  "Funny, 
was  n't  it,  our  running  into  Gloria  Raymond  and  Jack- 
son Holt."  And  then  he  added  apologetically:  "I  can't 
very  well  be  sore  at  Jackson  Holt  over  that  night  last 
summer,  since  what  he  did  has  turned  out  to  be  a  favor. 
And  Gloria  —  since  we  've  got  to  be  meeting  her  we 
might  as  well  be  polite,  particularly  when  the  fight 
is  over  and  has  come  out  our  way." 

"Of  course,"  agreed  Jennie. 

But  she  spoke  absently.  Just  then  her  mind  was 
filled  with  Slim  Jackson's  half-jesting  words  of  warn- 
ing about  Gloria ;  and  also  —  was  it  the  germ  of  jealousy 
on  her  part?  —  with  Slim's  remark  about  Gloria  and 
Kenneth  being  a  fine-looking  couple. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

OPPORTUNITY  PRESENTS  ITSELF 

JENNIE'S  big  chance  came  sooner  than  she  ex- 
pected, and  in  a  way  she  did  not  expect  —  and 
it  came  with   unexpected  complications  and  un- 
dreamed-of risks;  yet  she  was  ready  for  it  when  it  did 
come. 

When  the  participants  in  Mrs.  Shipman's  coming 
bazaar  began  to  meet  in  that  lady's  big  house  on  upper 
Fifth  Avenue,  first  to  talk  things  over  and  then  to  re- 
hearse, Jennie  had  opportunity  for  intensive  study  of 
the  woman  whom  it  was  part  of  her  great  plan  to  win. 
Since  the  passing  of  that  older  order  of  grand  dames 
who,  a  decade  or  two  before,  had  truly  ruled  society 
with  imperial  might  and  hauteur,  Mrs.  Shipman  more 
nearly  approached  being  the  leader  of  society  than  any 
of  her  contemporaries.  She  was  more  tactful,  more 
considerate  of  others,  than  had  been  the  great  ladies 
of  her  own  young  womanhood.  Jennie  perceived  that 
she  ruled  more  by  the  good-will  of  her  subjects  than  by 
the  imposition  of  her  might ;  in  keeping  with  the  political 
trend  of  her  time,  she  was  more  of  a  democratic  queen. 
But  though  her  methods  were  different,  Jennie  sensed 
that  her  desire  for  dominance  was  no  less  than  in  the 
leaders  of  old.  And  to  maintain  her  leadership  she  had 
to  be  always  active,  and  every  affair  with  which  she  was 
concerned  had  to  be  at  least  a  success,  if  it  did  not  actu- 
ally stand  above  every  similar  enterprise.  She  dared  not 
fail;  at  least  she  dared  not  fail  often. 

And  yet,  for  all  her  adroit  democratic  imperialism, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  295 

for  all  her  pleasantly  hidden  determination  to  hold  her 
own,  Jennie  perceived  that  she  was  at  bottom  a  good- 
hearted  and  generous  woman  —  perfectly  willing,  so 
long  as  the  main  glory  was  hers,  to  give  full  credit  to 
others. 

Jennie,  studying  quietly,  decided  on  the  traits  of 
Mrs.  Shipman  which  offered  her  her  best  chance  to  win : 
the  older  woman's  desire  for  success  and  continued  suc- 
cess, and  her  willingness  to  render  credit.  These  traits 
Jennie  must  use. 

Mrs.  Shipman  had  decided  upon  a  programme  of 
emotional  and  dramatic  tableaus  —  the  "Woes  of  the 
Allies"  —  the  figures  of  which  were  to  be  portrayed  by 
the  younger  women  of  society.  And  since  she  really 
liked  a  certain  young  Percy  Farwell,  and  everybody 
thought  him  extremely  clever,  she  had  decided  to  close 
her  programme  with  a  one-act  musical  comedy  written 
and  composed  by  him,  and  played  by  amateurs.  This 
would  lighten  the  end  of  the  programme  and  prepare  the 
guests  for  the  dancing  which  was  to  follow,  and  also  put 
them  in  the  right  mood  to  buy  freely  at  the  booths 
which  were  to  be  the  real  source  of  revenue.  All  together 
it  would  be  a  well-rounded  entertainment.  And  her 
printed  programmes  would  give  only  the  bare  titles  of 
the  various  numbers,  thus  creating  expectancy  and 
speculation  as  to  what  each  number  was  to  be  and  as  to 
the  identity  of  the  performers. 

Jennie's  allotted  part  in  the  programme  was  a  com- 
paratively minor  one :  merely  a  figure  in  a  tableau  that 
was  to  be  called  "Daughters  of  Belgium"  —  though 
after  the  tableau  had  been  rehearsed  many  times  she 
became  the  stricken  daughter  around  whom  the  others 
were  grouped.  But  in  the  bustle  of  preparation  she  paid 


296  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

more  attention  to  young  Farwell's  operetta  than  she 
did  to  her  own  act.  Gloria,  with  that  swift,  possessive 
instinct  which  few  ever  combated,  had  seized  upon 
Percy  Farwell's  work  even  while  Mrs.  Shipman's  plans 
were  forming;  she  gave  time  to  it,  she  privately  spent 
her  own  money,  she  got  the  prettiest  girls  who  were  not 
otherwise  engaged  for  her  chorus,  and  she  secured  Slim 
Jackson  as  coach.  Of  course  Gloria  had  the  chief  femi- 
nine part,  with  Percy  Farwell  himself  playing  the  roman- 
tic lover.  It  really  looked  very  good  to  Jennie  in  re- 
hearsal, with  Slim  whipping  it  into  shape.  Gloria  had 
enough  assurance  to  be  a  fair  actress,  and  she  had  a 
fair  voice  —  altogether  quite  adequate  for  an  amateur 
performance.  Gloria  plainly  intended  to  register  the 
personal  success  of  the  evening,  and  she  would  un- 
doubtedly do  so,  for  she  had  the  superior  vehicle. 

Jennie  could  not  wholly  repress  bitter  feelings.  But 
then,  —  oh,  well,  let  Gloria  have  her  success!  Some 
day,  somehow,  her  own  great  time  would  come. 

At  length  the  night  of  Mrs.  Shipman's  bazaar  arrived. 
The  affair  was  held  in  the  big  ballroom  at  Sherry's,  the 
ballroom  in  her  Fifth  Avenue  house  being  altogether  too 
small;  for  Mrs.  Shipman  was  bent  on  making  money, 
and  tickets  had  been  sold  widely  and  somewhat  indis- 
criminately in  order  to  insure  a  large  crowd.  A  tempo- 
rary stage  had  been  erected  at  one  end  of  the  room, 
with  draw-curtains,  and  with  curtained-in  dressing- 
rooms  for  the  participants. 

From  the  standpoint  of  attracting  an  audience  the 
bazaar  was  a  success  from  the  outset.  Every  one  of 
the  gilded  chairs  was  occupied  and  men  stood  packed 
to  the  very  walls.  Peeping  between  the  curtains  just  be- 
fore they  parted  for  the  beginning  of  the  performance, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  29  / 

Jennie  had  two  sharp  surprises.  Standing  near  the  door, 
rather  uncomfortable  in  evening  clothes,  stood  Officer 
Casey.  She  caught  her  breath.  What  was  he  doing 
there?  Then  she  relaxed  partially;  this  was  a  mixed 
crowd,  and  police  protection  had  seemed  advisable  — 
that  was  probably  the  explanation  of  Casey's  presence. 

And  then  her  eyes  lighted  on  another  man,  a  man 
with  a  luminous  bald  head,  and  she  experienced  a  more 
severe  shock.  He  seemed  familiar,  and  yet  at  first  she 
could  not  place  him.  Then  suddenly  she  remembered. 
He  was  that  judge  before  whom  she  had  been  tried  in  the 
Women's  Night  Court  years  before.  She  recalled  how 
piercing  his  eyes  had  been,  how  merciless  they  had 
seemed. 

She  had  a  frantic  impulse  to  tell  Mrs.  Shipman  that 
she  was  suddenly  indisposed  and  could  not  appear.  But 
that  impulse  she  quickly  controlled.  In  the  plain  black 
costume  which  she  wore  as  one  of  the  daughters  of  Bel- 
gium she  looked  very  little  like  her  real  self;  and  besides, 
so  many  years  had  passed  that  the  judge  had  probably 
forgotten  the  incident  of  the  young  girl  forger  who  had 
been  before  him  and  had  that  same  night  disappeared. 

The  programme  moved  along  smoothly.  The  tab- 
leaus  had  been  well  thought  out,  and  carefully  re- 
hearsed, and  since  they  had  the  added  value  of  being 
presented  by  the  prettiest  of  young  society  women ,  they 
were  well  received.  The  last  of  the  tableaus  was  Jen- 
nie's —  a  group  of  young  women  all  in  black,  represent- 
ing the  girlhood  of  a  devastated  land,  faces  white  and 
fixed  with  terror,  and  arms  stretched  out  imploringly. 
When  the  curtains  swung  together,  there  was  continued 
applause.  Not  a  tumult,  but  quite  as  much  as  Jennie 
had  expected. 


298  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Jennie  saw  that  Mrs.  Shipman,  sitting  in  the  impro- 
vised wings,  was  thoroughly  satisfied.  Thus  far  all  had 
gone  as  well  as  she  had  counted.  It  was  to  be  Percy 
Farwell's  little  opera  that  was  to  give  distinction  to  her 
programme,  which  was  to  make  her  evening  stand  out 
above  the  affairs  conducted  by  other  women. 

Jennie  paused  near  Mrs.  Shipman  to  watch  the  per- 
formance. Slim  Jackson  had  hurried  over  from  his  the- 
ater where  the  last  curtain  had  fallen  a  few  minutes 
before,  and  was  giving  final  direction  to  Gloria  and 
Farwell.  Beyond  the  velvet  curtains  a  small  orchestra, 
recruited  from  the  musicians  at  Slim's  theater,  were  be- 
ginning the  brief  overture.  A  minute  or  two  later  and 
the  curtain  parted,  and  the  chorus  danced  on. 

The  plots  of  all  musical  comedies,  in  their  outlines, 
are  much  the  same  and  seem  unbelievably  stupid,  and 
Percy  Farwell's  broke  with  no  traditions.  The  chorus 
seemed  to  be  friends  of  the  heroine,  though  naturally 
it  was  not  made  clear  what  they  were  doing  on  the 
premises.  They  sang  their  appointed  melody,  and  sang 
it  well,  then  danced  off.  Immediately  thereafter  Gloria 
and  young  Farwell  appeared  on  the  stage. 

The  dialogue  acquainted  the  audience  with  the  facts 
that  the  stage  was  Gloria's  drawing-room  and  that 
Gloria  was  a  young  widow  whose  fortune  had  been  tied 
up  in  a  way  to  prevent  her  remarrying,  by  one  of  those 
wills  which  dead  husbands  are  forever  leaving  behind 
them  in  musical  comedies.  Also  this  will  had  attached 
to  her  for  life  a  maid  and  a  butler  —  spies  upon  her  hap- 
piness —  both  spies !  But  fortunately,  by  a  trick,  she 
had  got  the  pair  out  of  the  house,  and  for  once  she  and 
her  lover  could  talk  freely.  Whereupon  the  young  hero 
nobly  declared  that  he  did  not  love  her  for  her  fortune, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  299 

only  for  herself ;  and  besought  her  to  forfeit  her  foi  tune 
and  join  him  in  penniless  happiness.  There  was  much 
romantic  talk  about  this  —  and  he  sang  to  her,  in  a 
pleasing  light  baritone,  about  the  spell  of  her  wonderful 
eyes  —  and  she  sang  back  (a  very  neat  melody)  in  a 
passable  soprano  something  about  if  only  one  dwelt  in 
love's  kingdom  where  Cupid  made  all  the  laws.  This 
cooing  at  each  other  done  with,  she  proceeded  to  declare 
that  she  could  come  to  no  man  and  be  to  him  merely 
a  burden  —  there  must  be  some  way  out  of  the  will. 

Thus  far  all  had  gone  excellently.  Absurd  as  the 
foregoing  synopsis  may  seem,  Farwell's  lines  had  been 
clever  or  agreeably  sentimental,  the  music  had  always 
been  adequate  and  in  spots  highly  pleasing,  and  the  au- 
dience had  been  in  a  .most  cordial  mood.  At  this  point 
in  the  dialogue,  Gloria  was  supposed  to  have  an  in- 
spired plan.  But  at  this  point  Gloria  had  nothing  at  all. 
She  began  to  flounder  in  her  lines  —  then  she  lost  them 
altogether.  Young  Farwell  began  to  talk  rapidly,  im- 
provising, slipping  her  her  cue  repeatedly  in  his  dis- 
cursive speech.  From  the  wings  Slim  whispered  her 
lines  loud  enough  for  her  to  hear.  But  she  heard  nothing. 
For  once  her  self-possession  failed  her.  She  stared  wildly 
at  Farwell  for  a  moment,  then  she  fairly  ran  off  into  the 
wings.  No  other  course  was  left  to  Farwell  except  to 
follow  her,  leaving  an  audience  that  blinked  its  eyes  at 
an  empty  stage. 

Slim  Jackson  swore  one  of  those  oaths  such  as  he  had 
used  in  the  long  ago  down  in  the  Pekin,  but  such  as  he 
had  never  before  permitted  himself  in  such  company  as 
this.  "Draw  those  curtains!"  he  snapped. 

Jennie's  attention  during  these  moments  was  on  Mrs. 
Shipman,  She  sat  in  her  chair,  stricken  with  the  sudden- 


goo  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

ness  of  the  disaster,  as  the  curtains  swished  together. 
"My  heavens!  My  heavens!"  gasped  the  great  lady. 
And  then  her  magnificent  eyes  suddenly  blazed  at  Gloria. 
"You  —  you — "  she  choked.  But  Gloria,  trembling, 
yet  at  the  same  time  defiant,  walked  by  without  answer 
into  her  dressing-room. 

Beyond  the  curtains  was  that  dead  hush  which  is 
more  sickening  to  the  soul  of  performers  and  managers 
than  hisses  and  cat-calls  can  ever  be.  Jennie  saw  that 
Mrs.  Shipman,  though  slumped  down  in  her  chair,  had 
grown  tense  with  the  realization  that  this  failure  was  so 
utterly  complete  as  to  negative  the  pleasant  effects  of 
the  preceding  numbers  —  to  make  of  all  that  had  gone 
before,  and  all  that  was  to  come  after,  the  ball,  the  pi- 
ratical but  charming  business  of  the  booths,  a  hollow 
and  dismal  ruin.  And  for  the  great  Mrs.  Shipman  to  fail 
in  public  and  fail  so  colossally !  —  Jennie  could  guess  the 
agonizing  thoughts  which  were  horrifying  that  appalled 
and  stricken  lady. 

Less  than  a  minute  had  passed  since  Slim  had  ordered 
the  curtains  to  be  drawn.  Jennie's  mind  worked  so 
swiftly  that  she  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  thought  at 
all.  Back  of  the  operations  of  her  mind,  though  not  then 
consciously  remembered,  was  her  acquaintance  with  the 
old  stage  fact,  acquired  from  going  to  all  sorts  of  theaters 
from  the  Bowery  to  Broadway  in  her  Pekin  days,  that 
a  thing  which  is  pretentious  and  a  failure  needs  only  to 
be  exaggerated  and  made  consciously  and  solemnly  bad 
in  order  to  become  effective  with  an  audience. 

She  excitedly  caught  Slim's  arm.  "Come  on  —  let's 
go  on  and  burlesque  it!" 

"What's  in  your  head,  Jen?"  was  Slim's  quick,  whis- 
pered question. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  301 

"I'll  be  Nannette,  the  maid  —  you'll  be  Thompson, 
the  butler,"  she  answered  rapidly.  "We're  the  servants, 
just  come  back,  and  we  play  exactly  the  same  scenes 
as  our  masters  —  only  we  burlesque  it  —  making  it  as 
broad  as  the  old  Bowery  things.  We  remember  some  of 
the  lines,  and  we  can  fake  the  rest.  It's  the  only  way 
to  save  this.  Come  on!" 

Slim's  eyes  were  gleaming  with  excitement.  "Jennie, 
you're  all  there!  Sure  —  come  on!" 

Jennie  caught  up  a  tiny  apron  which  had  been  used 
in  an  earlier  tableau,  swiftly  tied  it  on  —  and  in  her 
severe  black  dress  which  she  had  worn  as  a  mourning 
daughter  of  Belgium,  she  was  transformed  into  the 
most  desirable  of  maids.  She  hurried  on  to  the  stage, 
Slim  behind  her,  Slim  at  the  same  time  ordering  the 
curtains  drawn.  When  the  curtains  parted  the  still 
dazed  audience  beheld  Jennie,  sitting  in  the  same  atti- 
tude Gloria  had  assumed  shortly  after  her  entrance,  fan- 
ning herself  affectedly  with  the  fan  Gloria  had  dropped. 
Slim  was  posed  adoringly  over  her  chair. 

"Thompson,"  said  Jennie,  looking  up  at  him,  "I  hope 
your  days  of  being  a  butler  will  soon  be  over.  It  is  for- 
tunate that  my  mistress  is  away  so  that  we  can  at  last 
talk  things  over  freely." 

"Nannette,"  cried  Slim,  with  hoarse  emotion,  "this 
chance  has  been  my  dream  for  months! " 

This  bit  told  the  audience  who  they  were.  At  once 
Jennie  spoke  of  the  horrid  will  her  late  husband  had 
made,  and  within  half  a  minute  the  audience  grasped 
the  fact  that  they  were  witnessing  the  same  scene  they 
had  just  beheld,  only  now  it  was  being  played  by  the 
servants,  and  being  played  as  a  joke.  They  began  to 
titter.  Jennie  and  Slim  went  on  about  the  will,  in  high- 


302  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

flown  language,  with  grandiose  emotion,  with  melo- 
dramatic gesture,  with  an  occasional  "My  God!  My 
God!"  and  an  occasional  frantic  hand  in  the  hair. 

They  used  in  their  improvisation  all  the  stock  phrases 
and  the  well-known  cues  their  minds  could  seize  upon. 
The  audience  was  now  in  full  laughter.  At  length  they 
reached  the  point  where  Farwell  and  Gloria  had  sung  at 
each  other.  Slim  could  do  many  things,  but  he  could  not 
sing.  However,  he  was  ready  with  words  which  should 
lead  up  to  Jennie's  singing  —  and  these  words  he  made 
a  burlesque  upon  that  most  wearisome  of  theatrical 
devices,  the  "song  cue." 

"Ah,  your  face,  dear  —  your  face!"  he  cried  in  high 
ecstasy.  ' '  That  reminds  me  of  a  song  you  used  to  sing 
about  a  face  —  a  sweet  and  simple  song  that  was  the 
tender  speech  of  the  heart.  Come,  sing  it  again!" 

He  led  the  way  to  the  piano  and  seated  himself.  Jen- 
nie had  no  idea  what  he  was  going  to  play,  but  she  was 
ready  for  anything  —  or  thought  she  was.  But  when 
Slim,  after  a  few  preliminary  chords,  struck  into  a  melody 
which  he  played  very  slowly,  and  when  she  recognized 
what  the  song  was,  her  courage  almost  left  her.  She 
glanced  at  the  judge;  could  that  song  send  his  mind 
back,  and  possibly  connect  her  in  his  memory  with  the 
missing  Jennie  M alone  he  once  had  tried? 

Slim  had  twice  played  the  introduction  before  she  had 
recovered  herself.  Then  she  stepped  forward,  clasped 
her  hands,  raised  her  eyes  toward  heaven,  and  slowly, 
pathetically,  she  sang  a  Bowery  ballad  which  had  been 
familiar  to  her  as  a  child  —  "The  Face  on  the  Bar- 
Room  Floor."  The  combination  of  her  charming,  plain- 
tive figure,  the  grisly  pathos  of  the  words,  and  this  being 
Mrs,  Shipman's  most  ambitious  social  function  —  the 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  303 

incongruity  of  it  all  tripled  the  effect.  The  audience 
simply  roared  its  delight  when  the  song  was  finished, 
and  split  gloves  and  bruised  palms  in  its  demand  for 
more. 

Slim's  nod  informed  them  that  there  was  to  be  an 
encore.  He  played  chords  for  a  few  moments  until  there 
was  comparative  silence,  and  then  he  spoke  again  in  his 
previous  voice  of  exaggerated  emotion: 

' '  That  face  —  that  face !  Another  song  you  used  to 
sing  about  a  face!  Dear  mother's  face  it  was.  A  sweet 
and  simple  song  that  was  the  tender  speech  of  the  heart. 
Come,  sing  it  again!" 

Once  more,  while  Slim  played  aimless  chords,  Jennie 
wondered  what  was  coming.  And  once  more  she  was 
horror-stricken  when  he  switched  into  the  melody.  But 
once  more  she  clasped  her  hands,  raised  her  eyes,  and 
slowly,  pathetically,  holding  long  upon  notes  which 
she  could  make  dolorous,  she  sang  another  gem  from  her 
memory's  collection  of  Bowery  ballads  —  "  Don't  Drive 
a  Nail  in  Mother's  Face." 

The  applause  which  followed  this  was  even  more  tu- 
multuous. But  Jennie  was  suddenly  rather  frightened. 
Perhaps  Mrs.  Shipman's  bazaar  was  being  saved,  but, 
by  throwing  herself  into  the  breach,  had  she  not  endan- 
gered her  own  standing  —  her  prestige  —  with  those 
people  among  whom  she  was  determined  to  win  a  greater 
place? 

While  the  applause  was  still  thundering,  she  whis- 
pered rapidly  to  Slim : 

"I  don't  want  the  final  impression  these  people  have 
of  me  to  be  rough-house.  Let's  switch  into  something 
different  —  say  end  off  with  a  dance." 

Slim  closed  the  piano  in  a  manner  to  indicate  that  a 


304  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

change  was  coming,  shot  a  few  low  words  to  the  con- 
ductor of  his  orchestra,  and  the  orchestra  immediately 
began  softly  to  play  a  modern  waltz.  At  once  their  man- 
ner of  burlesque  fell  from  Jennie  and  Slim,  he  slipped  an 
arm  about  her  and  they  swung  away  into  the  dance.  All 
New  York  declared  that  Jackson  Holt  was  the  greatest 
of  all  male  dancers  who  specialized  in  the  ballroom 
dances;  and  in  the  whole  of  his  life  Slim  Jackson  had 
never  danced  better  for  money  than  he  now  danced  for 
nothing.  And  Jennie,  trying  to  superimpose  upon  the 
burlesque  impression  an  impression  of  herself  that 
would  be  more  graciously  remembered,  danced  the  best 
that  was  in  her.  Into  the  slow  grace  of  the  old-time 
waltz  they  interwove  the  intricate  steps  of  the  waltz 
of  their  own  day.  They  were  a  well-nigh  perfect  pair. 
There  was  silence  out  in  the  audience  where  before  there 
had  been  unrestrained  hilarity  —  until  they  swung  off 
the  stage  and  the  curtains  drew  together.  Then  there 
was  applause  that  out-thundered  the  previous  thunder. 

Jennie  and  Slim  acknowledged  this  by  slipping  through 
the  curtains  and  bowing  to  the  audience  and  then  to 
each  other.  But  the  applause  did  not  diminish  when 
they  were  again  back  through  the  curtains. 

"You  take  this  call  alone,  Jennie,"  Slim  said.  "It's 
really  your  crowd,  not  mine  —  the  crowd  you  want  to 
get  solid  with." 

Jennie's  excitement  wras  too  high  for  her  to  notice  the 
sensation  which  had  been  created  in  the  wings ;  but  she 
did  see  Percy  Farwell  standing  with  loose,  bewildered 
face  fixed  on  her  and  Slim.  She  seized  his  limp  hand, 
and  before  he  knew  what  she  was  doing  he  was  through 
the  curtains  with  her,  blinking  at  the  audience,  and  she 
was  saying : 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  305 

"Mr.  Farwell  wishes  me  to  tell  you  how  grateful  he 
is  to  you  for  your  appreciation  of  his  burlesque.  All  of 
us  who  had  a  part  in  it  think  his  idea  was  extremely 
clever  —  to  embody  in  the  same  play  an  apparently 
serious  scene  and  then  a  burlesque  upon  it.  In  behalf 
of  all  of  us  who  have  had  a  share  in  Mr.  Farwell's 
burlesque,  I  wish  to  thank  you." 

Even  when  she  had  drawn  him  back  to  safety  be- 
hind the  curtains,  the  dazed  Mr.  Farwell  was  still  inar- 
ticulate. Every  one  else,  however,  crowding  up,  had 
much  to  say.  But  the  showman  that  was  in  Slim  Jack- 
son dominated  them  all. 

"Hear  that  audience  out  there?  They're  not  satis- 
fied yet,  and  are  n't  going  to  be  satisfied  with  mere  bows 
before  the  curtain.  Mrs.  Harrison  is  the  one  they're 
most  interested  in.  Mrs.  Harrison,  can  you  give  them 
an  encore?" 

Jennie  was  quite  willing  to  be  the  star,  and  more  than 
willing  that  the  effect  of  her  burlesque  performance 
should  be  indubitably  superseded  by  another  impres- 
sion. So  she  said,  "Yes." 

"Clear  the  stage,  everybody,"  ordered  Slim,  and 
when  all  were  off  he  ordered  the  curtains  once  more 
drawn.  "Now,  go  to  it,  Jennie,"  he  whispered  —  "any- 
thing you  like." 

Jennie  walked  out  upon  the  stage,  opened  the  piano, 
and  very  simply  she  seated  herself  —  much  in  the  man- 
ner that  one  Galli-Curci  was  to  win  her  most  popular 
triumphs  a  year  or  so  later.  Then  slowly,  softly,  she 
sang,  "The  Last  Rose  of  Summer."  The  utter  simplicity 
and  charm  with  which  she  did  the  old  song,  by  its  con- 
trast with  what  she  had  been  doing  these  last  few  min- 
utes, kept  the  audience  hushed  until  after  she  had  risen 


$o6  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

and  the  curtains  were  swinging  together.  Then  the  ap- 
plause rose  again  —  and  now  it  was  not  that  of  those 
who  have  been  made  to  laugh,  but  those  who  have  been 
made  to  admire.  Two  —  three  —  half  a  dozen  times 
Jennie  had  to  step  between  the  curtains  and  bow.  She 
smilingly  shook  her  head  with  finality  at  the  clamor  for 
more  and  did  not  take  another  call.  She  had  gained  her 
effect.  That  was  enough. 

"Swell,  Jennie  —  simply  swell!"  Slim  whispered  into 
her  ear. 

But  the  first  great  reward  for  what  she  had  done 
came  when  Mrs.  Shipman,  her  face  now  glowing,  and 
tears  in  her  eyes,  took  Jennie  into  her  arms.  "  My  dear, 
you  Ve  simply  saved  me ! ' '  cried  that  great  lady. ' '  You '  ve 
saved  me  personally  —  and  you  Ve  prevented  the 
bazaar  from  being  a  financial  failure.  The  people  are 
ready  to  buy  anything.  And,  my  dear,  if  there  is  any- 
thing in  the  world  I  can  do  for  you  —  it 's  already  done ! 
Won't  you  please  lunch  with  me  to-morrow?" 

Jennie  promised,  and  exultantly  escaped  through  the 
performers  toward  her  dressing-room.  On  the  way  she 
met  Gloria,  in  a  cloak,  a  dark  look  upon  her  face. 
Jennie  could  not  refrain  from  saying: 

"What,  leaving  just  as  the  dancing  is  about  to  begin! 
Where  are  you  going?" 

"Home  —  if  that's  any  of  your  business!"  snapped 
Gloria. 

Changed  into  an  evening  gown  and  out  among  those 
who  had  so  lately  been  her  audience,  Jennie  was  a  more 
direct  target  for  praise.  It  all  sounded  sweet  to  her; 
it  was  the  crowd's  acclaim  which  meant  that  she  was 
getting  on.  She  did  not  miss  a  word  of  it,  although 
her  ears  were  expert  enough  also  to  hear  Percy  Farwell 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  307 

being  clamorously  told  that  his  burlesque  was  the  best 
thing  he  had  ever  done.  A  glance  in  his  direction  showed 
her  that  he  was  red-faced  and  embarrassed  and  thor- 
oughly at  a  loss  how  to  take  his  success. 

A  little  later  when  the  current  of  humanity  had  car- 
ried her  to  near  the  main  entrance,  some  one  at  her  side 
said,  "Mrs.  Harrison,  I  want  the  pleasure  of  presenting 
to  you  Judge  Gilbert." 

She  turned.  Facing  her  was  the  luminous-domed 
magistrate  who  had  tried  her  those  long  years  ago. 
In  the  instant  that  followed  there  was  one  of  those 
periods  —  there  had  been  several  such  in  Jennie's  life 
—  in  which  a  moment  seems  to  have  the  length  of 
hours.  Did  he  recognize  her?  Was  she  in  her  moment 
of  high  victory  about  to  go  down  into  abysmal  defeat? 
...  A  few  yards  away  her  quick  eyes  saw  the  uncom- 
fortable Casey.  Was  Casey  there  to  act?  .  .  . 

The  suspense  was  for  but  a  moment.  Then  she  heard 
the  judge  who  on  that  other  occasion  had  been  so 
brusque  with  her,  saying : 

"This  is  a  pleasure  —  a  privilege — I  assure  you, 
Mrs.  Harrison." 

His  voice  and  manner  were  cringing.  He  did  not  know 
her!  She  had  passed  upward  into  a  realm  toward  which 
he  gazed  with  reverent  eyes. 

Very  calmly  she  gave  him  her  hand  to  touch,  and 
the  meeting  was  over.  But  her  fate  having  been  tested 
thus  far,  she  wished  to  test  it  yet  a  little  further.  So 
she  walked  toward  Casey,  and  as  she  was  passing  him 
she  looked  straight  into  his  face.  His  eyes  met  hers; 
they  were  blank,  unrecognizing. 

She  dropped  her  handkerchief,  as  if  by  accident,  at 
his  feet.  As  he  bent  to  pick  it  up,  she  leaned  toward  him. 


308  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Well?"  she  whispered. 

He  struck  the  handkerchief  two  or  three  times  against 
his  sleeve  as  if  to  beat  out  any  possible  dust.  His  head 
was  bent  over  his  task,  and  for  that  moment  their  heads 
were  close  together. 

"You're  putting  it  over  grand,  Jennie,"  he  replied  in 
the  most  guarded  of  whispers. 

He  handed  her  the  bit  of  linen  with  an  awkward  bow. 
Again  his  eyes  met  hers,  and  again  they  were  blank, 
unrecognizing. 

And  yet  a  little  later  Jennie  had  her  second  great 
reward.  This  was  when  she  was  dancing  with  Mr. 
Daniel  Shipman  —  or  rather  when  she  was  not  dancing 
with  him,  for  he  had  said  he  preferred  to  sit  out  the 
number  he  had  won  from  her. 

"Mrs.  Harrison,"  the  great  financier  said  to  her 
quizzically,  "  I  wonder  if  you  realize  what  a  tremendous 
fraud  you  are?  No,  I  don't  mean  tremendous  - —  I  mean 
just  a  pleasant-sized  fraud." 

"Fraud?"  exclaimed  Jennie,  startled. 

"Yes,  fraud.  Mrs.  Shipman  has  told  me  privately 
that  you  have  deceived  us  all  abominably.  That  is,  she 
told  me  the  truth  about  that  play:  that  you  turned  it 
into  a  burlesque  in  order  to  save  the  evening  —  and 
then  gave  young  Farwell  the  credit  for  having  written 
it  that  way  in  order  to  save  everybody  else.  Is  that 
correct?" 

"If  Mrs.  Shipman  said  that  I  can't  deny  it.  But 
please  don't  tell  any  one." 

"Pardon  my  being  personal,  Mrs.  Harrison,"  the 
great  financier  went  on  —  and  Jennie  thought  she  saw 
a  gleam  in  his  keen  eyes  that  was  very  personal  indeed 
—  "but  a  woman  who  can  do  what  you  have  done  must 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  309 

have  quickness  of  wit  and  nerve  and  brains.  She  must  be 
a  woman  very  much  out  of  the  ordinary  —  the  kind  of 
woman  any  man  would  count  it  a  high  favor  to  have  as 
one  of  his  friends."  His  voice  became  abrupt.  "Mrs. 
Harrison,  I  would  like  to  know  you  better  —  have 
real  talks  with  you.  Could  n't  you  —  ah  —  we  have 
lunch  or  something  together?  Other  persons,  if  you 
like,  and  all  that.  Or  you  might  —  ah  —  like  to  see 
my  collection  of  emeralds.  Your  husband  could  call 
for  you." 

His  invitations,  or  suggestions,  had  been  vague. 
But  to  Jennie's  mind  there  had  been  much,  very  much, 
implied  by  them.  Jennie  felt  dizzy.  She  did  not  want 
complications  with  Mrs.  Shipman,  and  perhaps  injure 
her  chances  there.  But  here  she  was  suddenly  at  the 
gate  of  new  opportunities.  And  perhaps  —  of  new 
dangers. 

"Why  —  why,  yes,"  she  answered. 

"Soon?"  he  asked. 

"Yes  —  soon." 

"That's  a  bargain."  His  keen  eyes  flashed  again. 
"And  I  shall  hold  you  to  it  —  soon." 

On  the  way  home  Jennie  had  to  go  over  the  whole 
business  of  the  night  with  Kenneth. 

"You  were  great,  Jennie  —  nothing  less  than  great!" 
Kenneth  declared.  "And  Mrs.  Shipman  asking  you  to 
lunch  with  her  —  why,  that's  the  surest  sign  that  you 
have  reached  the  very  top!" 

Jennie  thought  she  had,  too;  and  she  had  carried 
Kenneth  up  with  her.  She  was  no  less  exultant  than 
Kenneth,  but  she  was  silent  while  he  talked  on  excitedly. 
She  was  wondering  if  she  should  tell  Kenneth  about  Mr. 
Shipman.  She  finally  decided  not  to  do  so.  She  did  not 


3 1  o  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

know  just  what  was  going  to  happen  when  she  met 
Mr.  Shipman.  Almost  anything  might  happen  —  and 
then  again  perhaps  nothing.  Better  to  wait  until  she 
could  say  to  Kenneth,  "Here,  this  also  I  have  won 
for  you." 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

HOW  JENNIE  MANAGED  A  GREAT  MAN 

THE  luncheon  at  Mrs.  Shipman's,  which  placed 
Jennie  openly  and  definitely  among  the  highest 
few,  was  an  ever-memorable  event  for  her.  And 
the  days  that  immediately  followed  that  luncheon  —  the 
opening  days  of  that  golden  epoch  when  she  really  "be- 
longed" to  society's  topmost  stratum  —  were  days  of 
unforgettable  rapture.  It  was  marvelous,  dazzling, 
breath-taking,  to  be  here,  poised  at  the  very  top!  But 
she  managed  up  here,  as  for  years  past  in  lowlier  places, 
to  maintain  an  unpretentious  manner.  It  seemed  to  her 
to  be  as  bad  a  policy,  even  in  these  lofty  realms,  to  ex- 
cite jealousy  or  antagonism,  as  she  had  deemed  it  when 
she  had  been  a  crude  young  girl  back  in  those  far-gone 
first  months  at  Braithewood  Hall. 

And  Kenneth  —  daily  he  seemed  to  expand,  and  take 
on  confidence,  with  their  new  social  greatness.  Busy  as 
Jennie  now  was  with  social  affairs,  and  thrilled  as  she 
was  with  her  own  exaltation,  she  had  time  and  faculties 
enough  to  watch  the  effect  of  all  this  upon  Kenneth.  Of 
a  certainty  her  great  campaign  had  succeeded  —  thus 
far!  Of  a  certainty  Kenneth  had  no  reason  for  regret! 
At  Mrs.  Shipman's  luncheon  Jennie  had  seen  an  open- 
ing and  had  acted  instantly.  Mrs.  Shipman  had  asked 
Jennie  if  there  was  not  some  way  in  which  she  could 
serve  her.  Jennie,  daring  greatly,  had  spoken  of  Ken- 
neth's rare  ability,  his  equipment  for  a  financial  career, 
and  had  then  said  that  Mrs.  Shipman  could  do  her  no 
higher  service  than  use  her  influence  to  get  Kenneth 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


into  Mr.  Shipman's  firm.  Mrs.  Shipman  had  slowly 
shaken  her  head. 

"  I  'm  very  sorry.  I  'm  afraid  I  can't  serve  you  in  that. 
I  do  not  interfere  in  Mr.  Shipman's  business  affairs; 
especially  not  in  the  matter  of  recommending  people 
to  him  —  he's  very  particular  about  making  his  own 
choices  and  using  his  own  judgment.  Is  n't  there  some- 
thing else  I  can  do,  my  dear?" 

Jennie  had  felt  sharp  disappointment;  but  it  had  not 
lasted  long,  for  this  particular  hope  had  flashed  into 
existence  only  the  minute  before.  After  all,  she  had 
to  reach  Mr.  Shipman  through  Mr.  Shipman  himself. 
Though  her  life  was  now  bewilderingly  crowded,  how 
she  should  reach  Mr.  Shipman  was  her  dominating 
thought.  To  gratify  Kenneth's  ambition  by  getting 
him  connected  with  Mr.  Shipman,  that  was  now 
the  remaining  great  objective  in  her  dizzy  upward 
climb. 

A  few  days  after  her  success  at  the  bazaar,  there  came 
a  note  from  Mr.  Shipman  stating  that  unfortunately 
his  wife  would  be  away,  but  asking  Jennie  to  see  his 
emeralds  the  next  afternoon  at  four,  hinting  that  there 
would  be  a  chaperon  upon  the  premises,  and  stating  that 
her  husband  might  call  for  her  at  any  time  after  five. 
Jennie  drove  up  to  the  Shipman  house  at  the  appointed 
hour,  pulsing  with  wonderment  over  what  was  going  to 
happen.  She  was  doing  a  daring  thing,  she  knew,  for 
ugly  rumors  were  whispered  around  concerning  Mr. 
Shipman's  relations  with  women  —  but  one  only  got  on 
by  being  daring,  and  she  felt  she  could  meet  any  situa- 
tion that  might  arise.  And  of  course  she  might  avoid 
complications  by  writing  Mrs.  Shipman  of  her  visit  to 
see  the  emeralds. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


She  had  no  more  than  been  admitted  to  the  house 
when  Mr.  Shipman  appeared  and  led  her  straight  to  the 
wing  of  the  house  where  were  the  rooms  containing  his  fa- 
mous collections.  Jennie's  instant  impression  of  his  pre- 
cious stone  room  was  that  it  was  very  quiet  and  remote 
—  and  that  there  were  no  signs  of  a  chaperon.  For  her 
life,  she  could  not  help  shivering  as  the  great  man  un- 
locked his  cases.  And  as  he  picked  up  the  precious  bits 
of  green  fire  for  her  better  inspection,  and  put  some  of 
them  into  her  own  hand,  talking  all  the  while,  she  had, 
although  she  managed  to  keep  up  her  end  of  the  con- 
versation, only  one  definite  thought  and  that  thought 
was,  what  was  going  to  happen?  Again  and  again  he 
gave  her  direct  looks  from  his  keen,  heavily  lashed  eyes; 
she  thought  he  was  about  to  switch  to  personal  mat- 
ters, but  always  he  went  on  talking  about  the  jewels. 
Presently  he  locked  the  last  case,  and  they  sat  down  in 
the  formal  chairs  with  which  the  room  was  furnished, 
and  he  began  to  talk  to  her  about  herself.  She  thought 
that  at  last  it  was  coming  —  whatever  it  might  be.  She 
braced  herself;  she  tried  to  recall  some  of  the  phrases 
she  had  prepared  in  Kenneth's  favor. 

But  nothing  came  at  all  —  nothing  at  all  happened. 
Except  that  when  Kenneth  was  announced  as  waiting, 
he  took  her  hand  in  parting,  his  eyes  gazing  straight  into 
her  face,  and  said  in  lowered  voice: 

"This  is  only  the  beginning,  Mrs.  Harrison,  I  hope. 
May  I  not  see  you  again  —  soon?" 

"Why  —  yes,"  she  answered  nervously. 

She  was  still  dazed  when  she  was  out  in  the  car  with 
Kenneth.  She  could  not  understand  Mr.  Shipman. 
Well,  perhaps  these  men  of  big  affairs  were  just  —  well, 
just  very  different. 


314  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

She  had  to  tell  Kenneth  all  about  her  hour  with  Mr. 
Shipman.  Kenneth  was  silent  a  space. 

"It's  certain  he  likes  you,"  said  Kenneth.  "They 
say  Mr.  Shipman's  weakness  is  young  and  pretty 
women.  They  say  that  a  pretty  woman,  if  she  is  clever, 
can  get  almost  anything  out  of  him." 

A  week  later  Jennie  and  Kenneth  were  members  of 
a  large  theater-party.  In  the  crush  in  the  lobby  after- 
wards, when  every  one  was  talking  to  every  one  else, 
Jennie  became  separated  from  Kenneth  and  was  borne 
onward  by  the  slow  current.  At  the  door  a  hand  slipped 
beneath  her  elbow,  and  a  voice  said  in  her  ear: 

"You  're  my  prisoner.    Come  on." 

She  turned.    "Mr.  Shipman!"  she  cried. 

"  I  Ve  arranged  for  a  little  supper-party,"  he  went  on. 
"I've  spoken  to  your  husband.  You  and  I  are  going 
to  slip  away  to  it  together.  My  car  is  waiting  down  the 
line  —  out  of  this  crush." 

While  he  had  spoken  he  had  edged  her  along  the  outer 
wall  of  the  theater  where  the  crowd  was  thinnest, 
and  almost  before  she  knew  what  had  happened  she 
had  been  swiftly  guided  down  the  street  and  was  with 
Mr.  Shipman  in  a  moving  car.  The  suddenness  of  the 
episode  had  startled  her  so  that  it  required  the  sum- 
moning of  all  her  self-command  to  bear  her  part  in  the 
conversation  Mr.  Shipman  started  about  the  play.  She 
did  not  even  think  about  where  they  might  be  going, 
nor  did  she  once  look  out.  But  when  presently  the  car 
stopped  and  Mr.  Shipman  helped  her  out,  she  did  have 
a  fleeting  impression  that  the  street  was  unusually  quiet 
to  be  the  goal  of  a  party  of  after-theater  morry-makers. 
Mr.  Shipman  led  her  into  a  well-appointed  hallway  and 
thence  into  an  elevator,  to  whose  conductor  he  did  not 


A  Daughter  of  Two  PTorlds  315 

say  a  word.  Half  a  minute  later  they  were  out  of  the 
car  and  before  a  door.  Mr.  Shipman  did  not  ring; 
instead  he  slipped  a  key  into  the  lock,  opened  the  door, 
and  guided  her  in  before  him  and  pressed  her  forward  a 
few  paces  through  the  darkness. 

Then  from  above  her  and  beside  her  lights  flashed  on, 
and  Jennie  saw  she  was  in  a  large  room  whose  character 
her  swift  glance  could  not  determine.  But  there  were  no 
tables  ashine  with  white  napery  as  she  had  expected. 
Instead  there  was  a  large  table  of  dark  wood,  which 
had  something  of  the  appearance  of  a  desk,  and  a  few 
chairs  and  two  couches  —  for  the  rest,  all  she  gathered 
in  that  startled  first  glance  was  that  the  room  was 
large  and  richly  furnished. 

"We've  beaten  the  others  here,"  said  Mr.  Shipman, 
with  a  bit  of  a  laugh.  "But  they'll  soon  follow."  He 
helped  her  off  with  her  cloak,  and  slipped  out  of  his 
own  coat.  "We  might  as  well  rest  till  the  others  come. 
You  '11  find  this  a  first-class  chair."  He  pushed  one  of  the 
chairs  up  beside  the  dark  table,  and  after  hesitating 
a  second,  Jennie  sat  down.  "I  feel  a  bit  thirsty.  We 
might  as  well  have  a  sip  of  something  while  we  wait. 
Just  excuse  me,  please." 

He  passed  through  a  door.  She  glanced  about  her. 
There  were  other  doors,  but  what  they  led  into  she  could 
not  guess.  She  listened  with  held  breath.  The  deep 
silence  of  the  place  —  the  absence  of  servants,  proved 
first  by  his  not  ringing,  and  again  by  his  going  out  to  do 
service  himself  —  a  growing  fear  seized  upon  her.  What 
could  it  mean? 

Mr.  Shipman  reentered.  For  all  the  smile  on  his 
square  face,  he  looked  to  her  more  powerful,  more 
dominant,  than  ever;  and  bits  of  hinted  stories  she  had 


3 1 6  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

heard  about  him  flashed  through  her  brain.  He  was 
bearing  a  tray  which  held  a  bottle  and  two  glasses. 
This  he  placed  upon  the  table,  and  then  poured  the 
softly  hissing  champagne  and  held  out  to  her  one  glass. 
With  a  hand  that  she  managed  to  keep  from  shaking 
too  much  she  accepted  the  simmering  goblet.  What- 
ever might  be  just  before  her,  she  was  going  to  play  her 
part  to  the  limit  of  her  ability. 

"Here's  to  our  becoming  very  much  better  friends," 
he  smiled  at  her,  "and  to  our  always  being  the  best 
of  friends!" 

He  raised  his  glass  and  drained  it.  She  hardly  touched 
hers  to  her  lips,  then  set  it  on  the  tray.  As  she  did  so, 
her  rapid  gaze  took  in,  just  beyond  the  tray,  a  shining 
revolver  lying  upon  a  few  sheets  of  paper. 

Still  smiling  Mr.  Shipman  drew  up  a  chair  to  face  her 
and  sat  down.  "I  see  you  are  wondering  about  me, 
Mrs.  Harrison.  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  me?" 

"I  —  I  hardly  know  what  to  think  of  you,"  she 
breathed. 

"Then  just  suppose  I'm  one  of  those  genii,  such  as 
you  used  to  read  about  in  the  fairy  stories,  and  wanted 
to  make  you  a  present.  What  present  could  I  give  you 
that  would  please  you  most?" 

She  was  too  much  aquiver  with  fear  and  suspense  to 
frame  a  new  idea;  so  what  had  been  the  original  plan  in 
regard  to  Mr.  Shipman  automatically  found  utterance. 

" I'd  like  your  present  to  me  to  be  something  you  can 
do  for  my  husband." 

"And  what  is  that?" 

"  I  'd  like  to  have  you  take  him  into  your  firm.  Oh,  he 's 
clever  —  he's  fully  able  to  do  whatever  might  be  re- 
quired!" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  317 

There  —  she  had  got  it  out !  She  waited  breathlessly. 
The  utter  silence,  the  complete  isolation  of  the  place, 
pressed  upon  her  heart.  For  a  moment  he  gazed  at  her 
without  speaking. 

"So  that's  what  would  please  you  most.  But  before 
we  talk  about  it  further,  let's  have  some  more  wine." 

"None  for  me  —  please!" 

"Then  you  make  me  wait  until  you  are  ready.  Very 
well."  Again  he  gazed  at  her  steadily.  Then  he  said, 
in  a  soft  voice:  "Of  course  what  you  ask  is  a  favor  I 
can  grant.  But  when  a  man  —  at  least  such  a  man  as  I 
am  — grants  a  favor  of  that  sort  to  a  pretty  woman,  he 
rather  naturally  wants  a  favor  in  return  from  the  pretty 
woman.  I  don't  need  to  say  what  that  favor  is;  I  'm  sure 
you  understand." 

She  did.  But  she  did  not  speak;  she  could  not.  She 
now  clearly  understood  the  whole  of  the  situation  she 
was  in.  She  had  seen  too  many  modern  plays,  read  too 
many  modern  novels,  not  to  understand.  And  she  now 
also  understood  what  manner  of  place  this  was  that  she 
was  in  —  for  she  had  read  of  such  places ;  it  was  one  of 
those  secret  establishments  that  some  very  rich  men 
maintain  for  their  extremely  private  pleasures. 

"Whether  I  grant  your  favor  depends  wholly  on  you," 
his  soft  urgent  voice  went  on.  "I  say  yes,  if  you  say 
yes." 

Still  she  could  not  speak.  She  had  thought  that  some- 
how she  could  manage  this  man  —  and  how  terrifyingly 
she  had  miscalculated !  White-faced,  she  sat  unnerved 
by  her  situation  —  familiar  situation  though  it  was. 

He  leaned  nearer.  "Listen,  Mrs.  Harrison  —  Jen- 
nie," he  said  rapidly;  "I  know  a  woman  has  always  got 
to  think  of  her  reputation.  And  I  know  you  must  think 


3 1 8  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

of  yours.  Everything  will  be  perfectly  safe.  I  know  how 
to  manage  things  so  they  are  never  even  whispered 
about.  So  dismiss  the  fear  of  ever  being  found  out.  I 
can  manage  so  that  things  will  be  even  safer  and  more 
quiet  than  to-night." 

Her  gaze  held  to  his  powerful  face,  his  eyes  urgently 
agleam,  with  terrified  fascination.  "The  others  —  are 
they  not  coming?"  she  managed  to  breathe. 

"The  others?  Of  course  not." 

"Then  —  then  you  lied  to  me!" 

"How  could  I  lie  to  you,  Jennie,  when  of  course  you 
understood?" 

She  had  no  answer.  Her  soul  was  suddenly  inundated 
with  loathing  for  this  man  she  had  looked  up  to  and 
sought  after.  But  she  was  trapped  in  this  soundless 
chamber  —  she  had  to  use  her  wits. 

She  rose,  and  tried  to  speak  naturally.  "Perhaps  it 
may  be  safe  —  but  I  'm  sure  the  others  will  miss  us. 
Let's  go." 

He  had  risen  with  her  and  he  now  caught  her  hand. 
"We're  perfectly  safe!  And,  Jennie,  I  can  do  not  only 
what  you  asked  —  I  '11  do  anything  else  you  may  ever 
desire!  I'll  give  you  anything  —  everything!  I'll  see 
that  your  husband  has  the  highest  place  in  the  land. 
I  can  do  it  —  for  I  have  the  power.  And  you  and  I, 
Jennie —  I  tell  you  it  will  be  perfectly  safe!  Perfectly 
safe." 

"Please  —  please!"  cried  Jennie,  trying  to  wring 
free  her  hand. 

"Jennie  —  Jennie  —  I  love  you!"  He  swept  her  into 
his  arms.  "Jennie,  you  can't  leave  me!" 

The  time  had  passed  for  the  use  of  mere  wits  to  escape. 
As  she  struggled  with  him,  her  eyes  were  caught  by  the 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  319 

glitter  of  the  revolver  lying  on  the  table.  She  seized  it 
and  thrust  it  hard  against  Mr.  Shipman's  chest. 

"Stop!"  she  gasped;  "stop,  or  I'll  shoot  you!" 

He  loosed  her  and  staggered  back,  and  glared  at  her. 
Her  hand  trembled,  but  she  held  the  pistol  full  upon  him. 

"What 's  this  mean?"  he  demanded. 

"I'll  kill  you  —  if  you  don't  keep  your  hands  off  of 
me  —  and  let  me  go  away  from  this  place !  I  loathe  you ! " 

His  square  face  clenched;  his  look  became  a  glower. 
"So,  then,  you've  just  been  playing  with  me!  Playing 
with  me  all  these  weeks !  Do  you  suppose  I  'd  have  done 
this  to-night  if  you  had  n't  made  me  think  you  were 
leading  me  on?" 

She  perceived  the  element  of  truth  in  what  he  had 
said,  but  it  did  not  cause  her  to  lower  her  weapon.  "You 
may  be  right  to  an  extent,"  she  admitted.  "I  did  try 
to  make  you  interested  in  me,  but  that  was  only  because 
I  thought  that  in  that  way  I  might  help  my  husband. 
I  see  now  that  I  was  a  fool  —  but  I  want  you  to  know 
that  I  was  thinking  of  my  husband,  and  never  of  you. 
As  for  you,  I  loathe  you!" 

"This,  then,  is  your  answer?"  he  demanded. 

1 '  That 's  my  answer ! " 

He  abruptly  turned  his  back  upon  her,  and  she 
thought  she  saw  a  tremor  go  through  his  body.  She 
picked  up  her  cloak  and  started  to  back  toward  the 
door  of  this  strange  apartment. 

"Good-night,"  she  said  briefly. 

"Wait!" 

He  wheeled  about.  Jennie  was  startled  at  the  swift 
change  that  had  taken  place  in  the  man.  The  passion- 
wrought  figure  had  relaxed,  and  he  was  smiling  —  al- 
most laughing. 


320  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Rather  a  good  bit  of  acting,  don't  you  think?"  he 
inquired. 

"Acting?"  Jennie  gasped. 

"On  my  part.  Though  I  hope  you'll  forgive  my 
familiarity  in  calling  you  Jennie.  Don't  you  think  I  did 
the  he- vampire  pretty  well  for  an  amateur?  Not  such 
an  inexperienced  amateur,  for  they  used  to  think  me 
pretty  good  long  ago  when  I  was  in  Harvard  —  and 
since  I  go  to  the  movies  whenever  I  get  a  chance,  of 
course  I  know  just  exactly  how  a  bad  rich  man  is  sup- 
posed to  behave." 

"You  mean  this  whole  business  —  was  planned  — 
has  been  just  acting?"  breathed  Jennie. 

"Yes.  And  it  has  come  out  just  the  way  I  expected 
it  would  —  and  hoped  it  would." 

"I  don't  believe  you!"  cried  Jennie  with  sudden  in- 
tensity. "I  don't  believe  it  was  acting!" 

"No?"  he  said  pleasantly.  "Let's  consider  just  one 
detail  —  that  revolver  you  are  so  earnestly  pointing  at 
me.  I  put  it  on  my  desk  this  afternoon  with  the  belief 
that  you  would  see  it  and  threaten  to  shoot  me  with  it. 
Naturally  I  did  n't  want  to  get  killed.  You  can  test  how 
dangerous  it  is  by  pulling  the  trigger  and  seeing  what 
happens  to  me.  Or  else  you  can  break  the  revolver  and 
see  what's  inside  —  if  you  know  how  to  work  it." 

Jennie  stared  at  him  for  a  moment,  then  her  eyes 
went  waveringly  down  to  the  pistol.  She  broke  it. 
The  chamber  was  empty. 

"  But  —  but  —  I  don't  understand,"  she  said  blankly. 
"This  —  this  place  here?" 

"I  know  what  you  thought  it  was.  Despite  my  secre- 
taries, people  won't  let  me  have  peace  either  at  my 
office  or  my  home.  I  've  got  to  have  quiet  to  think  out 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  321 

some  things,  so  this  den  of  vice  is  just  a  study  I  keep  to 
slip  away  to  and  hide  myself  in.  No  one  knows  of  this 
place  except  Mrs.  Shipman  and  myself." 

Whether  he  was  telling  the  truth  or  not,  Jennie  could 
not  resist  belief  in  what  he  said.  "But  —  but  why  did 
you  do  this?" 

"To  make  sure  about  you.  I  like  young  people.  You 
attracted  me  the  first  time  I  saw  you.  You  seemed  un- 
usual. And  you  attracted  me  even  more  by  what  you 
did  the  night  you  saved  Mrs.  Shipman's  affair.  Also  I 
was  perfectly  aware  that  you  were  making  up  to  me, 
and  I  was  very  frankly  curious.  When  Mrs.  Shipman 
told  me  of  your  request  to  use  her  influence  to  get  your 
husband  — " 

"She  told  you  that,  after  all?"  cried  Jennie. 

"Yes.  Then  I  realized  that  you  wanted  to  push  your 
husband  along."  Mr.  Shipman  was  now  talking  very 
gravely.  "Mrs.  Harrison,  there  is  no  one  I  admire  so 
much,  or  detest  so  much,  as  the  'pushing  wife'  —  it  de- 
pends upon  the  sort  she  is.  It  has  been  my  experience 
in  business  that  hardly  anything  can  help  a  man  so 
much  as  the  right  sort  of  wife.  Some  wives  will  go  to 
any  limit ;  even  the  limit  I  suggested  to  you  a  few  min- 
utes ago.  There  are  plenty  who  have  been  willing  to  go 
to  that  limit  with  me  —  which  is  not  boasting,  but 
merely  acquainting  you  with  a  commonplace  experience 
of  many  men  who  are  considered  important.  I  don't 
want  a  man  connected  with  me  who  has  that  sort  of 
wife  —  and  the  only  way  to  find  out  about  a  wife  who 
may  be  that  sort  is  to  test  her. 

"Now,  of  course,  I  have  heard  of  your  husband," 
Mr.  Shipman  continued,  "but  I  had  never  given  him 
much  thought  until  after  I  met  you,  and  I  had  never 


322  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

considered  him  in  a  business  way  at  all  until  after  Mrs. 
Shipman  made  known  to  me  your  desire.  I  then  thought 
of  him.  Just  now  all  great  banking  concerns  are  looking 
for  men  who  are  capable  of  filling  or  who  can  be  devel- 
oped to  fill  big  positions.  I  was  not  certain  about  your 
husband ;  I  Ve  had  varying  reports.  But  if  you  were  the 
right  sort  of  wife,  the  sound  sort,  I  knew  there  would 
be  no  doubt  about  his  turning  out  to  be  what  my  house 
needs.  Mrs.  Harrison,  you  are  the  sort  of  wife  who 
makes  a  man  a  big  man.  And  chiefly  because  of  you, 
and  my  belief  in  you,  I  am  going  to  ask  your  husband 
to  call  to  talk  over  with  me  the  matter  of  coming  into 
our  firm." 

"Mr.  Shipman!"  Jennie  breathed. 

"Incidentally,"  smiled  Mr.  Shipman,  "if  I  am  a  big 
man,  it  is  largely  because  of  Mrs.  Shipman.  Also  inci- 
dentally —  though  this  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  story 
books  —  I  am  one  rich  man  who  is  still  in  love  with  his 
own  wife." 

He  glanced  at  his  watch.  "Come  on  —  or  we'll  keep 
the  others  waiting  too  long.  For  there  really  is  a  little 
supper  —  it's  at  the  Plaza." 


CHAPTER  XXX 

SHADOWS  FROM  THE  PAST 

TWO  days  later  Kenneth  came  home  flushed 
with  the  great  news.    He  was  going  into  Mr. 
Shipman's  firm,  and  in  a  very  responsible  rela- 
tionship.  It  was  almost  too  good  to  be  true.   But  now 
that  he  was  in,  he'd  show  them! 

"And,  Jennie,"  he  cried,  holding  tight  her  hands, 
"it's  all  because  of  you!  Mr.  Shipman  told  me,  and  he 
was  plain  about  it.  He  said  he  was  doing  it  chiefly  be- 
cause of  his  and  Mrs.  Shipman's  belief  in  you,  and  be- 
cause you  had  come  right  out  and  asked  for  it.  He  said 
that,  of  course,  he  would  n't  have  done  it  if  he  did  not 
believe  I  had  ability.  But  he  was  very  plain  about 
having  done  it  chiefly  because  of  you  —  and  he  said 
straight  out  that  I  had  a  wife  that  could  make  anything 
out  of  me.  Oh,  Jennie,  Jennie  —  what  a  marvelous 
little  manager  you  are!" 

Jennie  glowed  at  his  praise,  at  his  happiness,  at  their 
joint  success.  Kenneth  rapidly  sketched  his  plans.  He 
was  to  enter  Mr.  Shipman's  firm  at  once,  but  with  Mr. 
Shipman's  consent  he  was  to  retain  his  interest  in  Har- 
rison and  Company  and  was  to  remain  an  officer  of  the 
business.  His  position  with  his  father's  company  would 
be  practically  unchanged  —  only,  of  course,  some  man 
would  be  secured  for  the  routine  work  which  he  had 
done. 

Jennie  very  frankly  acknowledged  to  herself  that  luck 
had  been  with  her  in  her  wonderful  upward  climb.  Cer- 
tainly her  two  most  recent  great  successes  —  that  at 


324  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Mrs.  Shipman's  bazaar  and  the  winning  of  Mr.  Ship- 
man's  favor  —  had  not  been  the  direct  results  of  plans 
which  she  had  calculated  would  develop  thus  and  so. 
But  she  credited  herself  with  this:  that  her  luck  had 
been  the  luck  of  those  who  prepare  themselves,  who 
work  hard,  and  who  bide  their  time. 

Golden  days  followed;  days  that  apparently  could 
give  birth  only  to  other  days  of  gold.  Everywhere  that 
charming,  clever,  simple  Mrs.  Harrison  was  wanted. 
She  was  now  on  Life's  highest  crest;  there  might  be  yet 
higher  pinnacles  in  days  to  come,  but  they  would  not 
have  to  be  climbed  —  they  would  be  elevations  of  her 
own  building. 

During  this  period  of  the  freshness  of  her  success, 
before  the  miracle  of  her  having  won  so  much  could  have 
been  diminished  or  made  to  seem  somewhat  common- 
place by  time,  she  one  afternoon  had  a  telephone  mes- 
sage from  Slim.  Slim  wanted  very  much  to  see  her  at 
once  and  alone.  She  tried  to  put  him  off  by  telling  him 
she  had  an  engagement  for  tea  at  Mrs.  Shipman's,  but 
Slim  was  not  to  be  denied.  He  declared  she  could  cancel 
the  engagement  for  tea;  he  had  something  of  great 
interest,  something  new  and  rather  important,  to  tell 
her.  Experience  reminded  her  that  when  Slim  insisted, 
it  would  be  policy  to  comply;  so  she  telephoned  Mrs. 
Shipman  about  a  headache  which  was  going  to  delay 
her  and  might  even  compel  her  to  remain  at  home ;  and 
then  she  awaited  Slim's  arrival  with  a  growing  curiosity 
as  to  the  nature  of  his  news. 

She  received  him  in  the  drawing-room.  He  was  in  as 
smart  and  correct  afternoon  dress  as  could  be  seen  in 
New  York,  and  he  advanced  upon  her  smiling  his 
friendly  smile  and  holding  out  his  hand.  She  took  the 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  325 

hand.  It  was  not  her  nature,  when  they  were  alone,  to 
waste  time  on  conversation  which  should  work  around 
indirectly  to  the  point. 

"Well,  what  is  it,  Slim?"  she  demanded. 

"What's  the  hurry,  Jennie?"  he  objected.  "Give  me 
a  chance  to  say  how-do-you-do  and  how's  your  health." 

"  I  want  to  finish  and  get  around  to  Mrs.  Shipman's. 
What  is  it?" 

His  eyes  wandered  about  the  large  room  with  its  wide 
doorways,  then  came  back  to  her.  "  It's  a  bit  personal, 
something  we'd  both  rather  keep  private  —  oh, 
nothing  to  be  worried  about.  Could  n't  we  talk  it  over 
where  we  might  not  have  an  unexpected  audience?" 

She  led  him  into  her  sitting-room,  and  he  closed  the 
door.  "Well?"  she  demanded  when  they  were  seated. 

"May  I  smoke?"  he  inquired. 

"You  know  you  may." 

He  took  from  an  inner  coat  pocket  a  thin  gold  case 
delicately  shaped  to  fit  the  chest  unbulgingly,  and  held 
it  opened  to  her.  She  shook  her  head.  With  easy  delib- 
eration he  helped  himself,  returned  the  case  and  lighted 
the  cigarette.  His  graceful  deliberation  was  provoking 
to  her  —  perhaps  was  intended  so  to  be. 

"Well?"  she  demanded  once  more. 

He  regarded  her  with  the  frank,  open  smile  of  old 
friends.  Then  he  nodded.  "Well,  Jennie,  you've  cer- 
tainly reached  the  very  top  —  are  settled  there  solidly 
—  up  where  only  the  big  people  grow." 

"It  wasn't  to  tell  me  that  that  you  asked  me  to 
break  an  engagement,"  she  returned.  "Please  begin 
with  whatever  you're  here  about." 

"It's  because  I  realized  that  you  were  so  solidly  at 
the  top  that  I  thought  I  'd  better  come."  He  was  still 


326  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

smiling  his  friendly  imperturbable  smile  at  her.  "But 
if  you  want  me  to  begin,  perhaps  the  way  to  begin  is  to 
go  back  six  or  eight  months.  You  remember  the  little 
chat  we  had  late  that  night  out  on  the  drive  at  Silver 
Bluffs  —  the  night  you  showed  up  Gloria  Raymond, 
and  Gloria  and  I  were  ordered  off  the  premises?" 

"Of  course."  She  instantly  sensed  that,  pleasant 
though  his  manner  was,  Slim  was  playing  with  her. 
"Out  with  it,  Slim  —  what  are  you  here  for?" 

"And  you  will  recall,"  he  went  on,  ignoring  her  im- 
perative question,  "that  you  asked  why  I  helped  you 
stage  that  little  domestic  drama  that  showed  me  up  in 
the  last  scene  as  the  villain  of  the  piece.  You  will  recall 
that  I  said  I  did  it  to  help  you  appear  the  heroine  and 
reap  the  heroine's  reward.  And  you  will  recall  that  I 
said  I  also  had  other  reasons  for  doing  it  —  big  reasons 
—  reasons  pertaining  to  the  general  well-being  of  Mr. 
Slim  Jackson  —  but  that  I  could  n't  tell  you  what 
they  were  until  the  time  had  come.  The  time  has  come 
for  me  to  tell  you  those  other  reasons  —  or  a  part  of 
them.  That's  why  I  'm  here." 

"Go  on,"  she  ordered. 

He  still  smiled;  his  voice  was  even,  bland  —  confiden- 
tially friendly.  "One  of  the  reasons  was  that  I  saw  it 
would  n't  have  been  to  my  particular  advantage  for 
Gloria  Raymond  to  have  married  Kenneth.  It  would  n't 
have  helped  me  at  all,  since  I  should  n't  have  figured  in 
it  in  any  way  and  neither  party  would  have  been  under 
any  obligation  to  me.  I  suppose  that's  clear  enough, 
Jennie?" 

"Yes." 

"I  had  sized  up  the  situation,  and  I  saw  that  with 
Gloria  out  of  the  game,  you  'd  be  certain  to  land  Ken- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  327 

neth.  Since  you  would  n't  join  up  with  me,  the  next  best 
proposition  for  me  was  to  help  marry  you  to  Kenneth. 
See  how  honest  I'm  being  with  you,  Jennie?  I  figured 
that  if  through  my  help  you  married  Kenneth,  and  made 
a  success  of  it,  why,  you  'd  always  feel  under  some  sort 
of  obligation  to  me.  And  it 's  all  worked  out  exactly  as 
I  figured  —  except  that  you  've  gone  even  higher  than 
I  counted." 

Jennie  recognized  that  what  he  spoke  was  the  truth, 
even  though  he  was  telling  her  only  part  of  the  truth. 
She  was  Kenneth's  wife  partly  because  Slim  had  so 
willed  it.  She  began  to  fill  with  sickness,  with  humilia- 
tion, as  on  that  night  when  he  had  told  her  an  earlier 
installment  of  the  part  that  he  had  played,  and  when 
the  glory  of  personal  achievement  had  gone  from  her. 
But  she  controlled  her  faculties. 

"I  understand  all  that,"  she  said  calmly.  "But  that 
concerns  the  past.  I  'm  more  interested  in  the  present." 

"So  am  I.  But  I  had  to  tell  about  the  past  in  order  to 
explain,  give  a  reasonable  basis  to,  the  present.  It's  like 
this:  My  show's  taking  in  a  lot  at  the  box,  but  it's 
an  awfully  expensive  production,  and  I  'm  really  losing 
money  every  week.  You  know  I  Ve  had  to  keep  Doris 
Dorraine  on  as  my  dancing  partner;  and  she's  the 
same  as  when  I  saw  you  last  summer  —  not  up  to  the 
level.  Besides,  I've  guessed  wrong  on  some  stocks. 
I  'm  up  against  it,  Jennie :  I  need  a  loan.  Do  I  make 
myself  clear?" 

"Perfectly  clear,"  she  said  with  unflinching  eyes. 
"This  seems  to  be  a  little  case  of  blackmail.  I  wonder 
how  many  women  you've  held  up,  and  in  how  many 
different  ways?  It 's  a  grand  little  game  —  blackmail ! ' ' 

"Old  friends  shouldn't  use  such  an  unpleasant  word," 


328  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

he  replied,  his  amiable  tone  unchanged  by  her  sharp 
directness.  "I  merely  said  'loan.'  Naturally,  I  cannot 
promise  when  I  will  repay  the  loan.  Of  course,  instead 
of  calling  it  a  loan,  I  might  very  legitimately  regard  it 
as  a  straight  commission  on  business  transacted." 

"It's  blackmail!"  she  exclaimed. 

"It's  a  loan,  or  a  commission,"  he  corrected  amiably. 

"It's  blackmail!"  she  repeated. 

"Let's  not  waste  time,  Jennie,  arguing  over  such 
minor  details  as  the  color  of  a  person's  eyes  or  the  exact 
word  to  be  applied  to  a  set  of  circumstances.  Whatever 
the  word  may  be,  that  does  n't  alter  the  character  of  my 
need.  I  need  money." 

"And  if  I  say  I  can't  give  you  any  money  —  what 
then?" 

They  gazed  at  each  other  steadily  and  in  silence  for 
a  long  moment.  Then  Slim  remarked  gravely : 

"  It  would  be  too  bad,  would  n't  it,  if  it  became  known 
that  Mrs.  Kenneth  Harrison,  the  great  social  favorite 
and  protegee  of  Mrs.  Shipman,  was  in  reality  the  daugh- 
ter of  Black  Jerry  Malone  and  was  the  Jennie  Malone 
who  was  wanted  by  the  police  as  a  forger." 

She  had  sensed  that  he  was  headed  toward  this; 
nevertheless  his  cool  level  statement  came  as  a  definite 
shock.  She  realized  how  far-seeing  he  had  been;  how 
craftily  he  had  waited  until  she  had  reached  a  place 
which  he  thought  she  would  pay  any  price  rather  than 
lose.  And  it  came  upon  her  that  his  cleverness  and  her 
own  ambition  and  the  working-out  of  events  had  placed 
her  entirely  in  his  power.  He  could  destroy  her  with  a 
word,  if  he  so  wished. 

"So  it  is  sure-enough  blackmail,"  she  breathed  — 
"backed  up  with  a  threat  of  exposure." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  329 

"Let's  not  talk  that  way,  Jennie,"  he  protested  in 
his  pleasant,  velvety  voice.  "You  know  I  don't  want 
to  expose  you ;  I'd  a  lot  rather  have  you  stay  up  where 
you  are.  I  just  need  some  money  —  that's  all  there  is 
to  it." 

She  recognized  her  helplessness  and  the  futility  of 
argument.  "How  much?" 

"  I  ought  to  have  ten  thousand.    In  cash,  of  course." 

"Ten  thousand!  I  have  no  money  of  my  own  — 
dad 's  stopped  sending  me  any.  Even  if  I  agreed,  there 's 
no  way  I  could  get  ten  thousand." 

"You  have  no  end  of  ways,  my  dear,"  he  assured  her 
evenly.  "There's  Kenneth." 

"  I  could  n't  ask  Kenneth  for  any  such  sum  as  that!" 
she  exclaimed.  "There's  nothing  plausible  I  could  ask 
it  for." 

"Oh,  yes,  there  is.  You  could  say  you  wanted  to  buy 
a  necklace  —  jewels.  He  would  loosen  up.  You  could 
give  me  most  of  it,  and  with  the  balance  you  could  buy 
some  decent-looking  fakes;  thev'd  only  cost  a  few 
hundreds.  Don't  give  me  any  credit  for  this  idea,  Jennie; 
it's  an  old  one  that  lots  of  women  have  used  on  their 
husbands." 

She  shook  her  head.  "I  couldn't  do  that  —  not 
with  Kenneth." 

"All  right,  we'll  pass  up  Kenneth.  But  you  can 
easily  get  the  money  in  another  quarter.  Handle  him 
right,  and  Mr.  Shipman  will  pass  it  right  over  to  you." 

She  colored.  "Mr.  Shipman!  What  do  you  mean, 
Slim  Jackson?"  she  demanded. 

"  Is  n't  my  meaning  perfectly  obvious?" 

"Say  what  it  is  that  you  mean!" 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders.    "When  a  man  like  Mr. 


33O  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Shipman,  and  with  a  reputation  such  as  his,  confers 
such  a  great  advantage  upon  the  husband  of  a  pretty 
young  woman,  the  said  man  has  usually  made  a  pleasant 
little  arrangement  with  the  said  pretty  young  wife  — 
but  why  say  more,  Jennie?" 

"You  —  you  believe  that?"  she  gasped. 

"It  happens  that  I  can't  believe  anything  else, 
Jennie.  And  if  he's  done  that  much  for  you,  he'll  cer- 
tainly do  a  lot  more." 

"It's  a  lie!"  she  flamed  at  him.  "And  you  cut  out 
that  kind  of  talk,  Slim  Jackson !  That 's  not  my  kind  of 
business!" 

"All  right  —  all  right  —  it  was  only  a  suggestion." 
His  manner  and  voice  were  unperturbed.  "There  are 
still  other  ways  you  may  prefer.  That  phony  letter  of 
Gloria  Raymond's  you  put  across  —  remember,  that 
night  out  at  Silver  Bluffs  —  that  showed  you  are  still 
as  clever  with  the  pen  as  ever.  You  always  were  a 
natural-born  wonder,  you  know.  You  can  easily  fix  up 
a  check,  and  take  it  out  of  some  party  that  '11  never  miss 
the  dough." 

"I'm  not  going  to  do  that  either!"  she  replied 
sharply. 

"All  right.  These  are  only  suggestions  to  you,  you 
know.  We'll  pass  on.  Now,  there's  Black  Jerry.  He's 
spent  a  lot  of  coin,  and  worked  hard,  to  get  you  up  here. 
Rather  than  have  everything  go  to  smash,  I  think  Jerry 
would  rustle  around  and  dig  up  the  necessary  coin." 

She  blazed  at  him.  "After  all  dad  has  done  for  me, 
do  you  think  I  'd  ask  him  to  stand  for  a  hold-up  like 
this?" 

"All  right  —  all  right  —  just  another  suggestion  — 
let's  forget  it,"  he  continued  blandly.  He  recrossed  his 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  331 

legs.  "But,  Jennie,  I  can't  help  you  out  with  any  more 
ideas;  that's  all  I'd  thought  of.  It's  up  to  you  now 
to  think  of  a  way.  How  you  do  it  is  all  the  same  to 
me.  My  only  concern  is,  I  Ve  simply  got  to  have  the 
money." 

For  all  his  pleasant  manner  she  realized  that  he  in- 
tended having  it.  So  she  fell  to  bargaining  over  the 
amount;  and  finally  she  got  him  down  to  where  he 
admitted  that  three  thousand  might  pull  him  through 
what  he  termed  his  "emergency." 

" But,  keep  this  in  mind,  Jennie:  however  you  get  the 
money,  you  are  not  even  to  hint  that  you  are  getting  it 
for  me,"  he  said  as  he  was  leaving,  menace  showing 
through  his  voice.  "I've  got  things  fixed  so  that  if 
anything  happens  to  me,  the  whole  business  about  you 
will  come  out  automatically.  You're  a  wise  child, 
Jennie  —  and  I  guess  you  understand." 

The  next  instant  his  tone  had  its  previous  blandness. 
"  I'm  sure  you  're  not  going  to  have  any  trouble.  Believe 
me,  I  would  n't  have  bothered  you  like  this  if  I  had  n't 
been  suddenly  right  up  against  it.  And  remember  this: 
we're  going  right  on  being  the  same  good  friends  as 
before." 

After  Slim's  departure  she  still  had  time  to  have  gone 
to  Mrs.  Shipman's  tea,  but  she  had  forgotten  all  about 
it.  In  a  panic  she  sat  considering  this  new  turn  in  her 
affairs.  As  she  reviewed  the  situation  she  acknowledged 
that  Slim,  from  Slim's  standpoint,  had  played  his  cards 
with  amazing  cleverness.  He  had  swung  to  her  side 
when  he  had  seen  this  course  to  be  to  his  advantage, 
he  had  helped  make  her  marriage  possible;  and  he  had 
held  back  until  he  thought  she  dared  not  refuse.  What 
an  unguessed  number  of  women  might  he  not  have 


332  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

trapped  with  his  fertile  ingenuity  —  women  who  dared 
not  speak! 

And  if  she  should  rebel,  try  to  break  free,  Slim  would 
surely  topple  her  from  her  lofty  place;  she  would  lose 
this  great  wonderful  world  which  with  such  patience  and 
daring  she  had  conquered.  And  Kenneth!  What  would 
Kenneth  do  when  he  learned  the  truth? 

She  dared  not  think  of  these  things;  she  averted  her 
mind  from  them.  She  must  first  of  all  satisfy  Slim's 
demand;  and  so  she  forced  her  mind  to  consider  ways 
and  means  for  meeting  her  present  crisis. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

JENNIE  FINDS  A  WAY 

JENNIE  had  a  personal  bank  account,  but  the  de- 
posits  in  it  had  never  represented  more  than  her 
spending  money,  and  now  it  held  almost  nothing. 
She  had  few  jewels;  this  once  she  regretted  her  quiet 
wedding,  which  naturally  had  reduced  to  insignificance 
the  giving  of  valuable  presents ;  and  the  sale  or  pledg- 
ing of  her  few  jewels,  besides  being  an  inadequate  pro- 
cedure, might  cause  embarrassing  questions  when  their 
absence  was  noticed.  Yes,  Slim  had  listed  every  possible 
method. 

That  evening,  on  the  way  to  a  dinner-party,  she  be- 
gan to  work  upon  Kenneth,  her  idea  being  exactly 
what  Slim  had  suggested,  to  secure  a  considerable  sum 
for  the  purchase  of  jewels  and  then  spend  a  small  part 
of  it  in  purchasing  passable  imitations.  She  had  never 
before  directly  asked  him  for  money,  and  she  found  it 
hard. 

"Kenneth,  do  you  think  I  wear  too  many  jewels?" 

"I  should  say  not!"  he  declared.  It  had  been  a  good 
day  for  him ;  on  the  books  he  had  made  a  great  deal  of 
money  and  he  was  in  a  generous  humor.  "I  wish  you 
had  a  lot  more  jewels  —  you'd  do  them  honor!" 

Encouraged  by  this  she  went  on-:  "I  saw  a  wonder- 
ful pearl  necklace  to-day  at "  mentioning  a  famous 

jeweler's,  "and  I  tried  it  on,  and  I  simply  fell  in  love 
with  it." 

"Go  ahead  and  buy  it." 

"Thanks,  dear!"    She  held  his  arm  close  for  a  mo- 


334  *A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

ment.  "But  they  told  me  that  it  had  been  ordered 
reserved  by  another  woman  —  practically  sold  to  her. 
They  said  they  really  did  n't  care  to  risk  selling  it  over 
the  other  customer's  head  unless  they  sold  it  for  cash. 
It 's  four  thousand  dollars." 

" Four  thousand  dollars  cash !"  He  laughed.  "Why, 
Jennie,  I  have  n't  seen  four  thousand  dollars  all  at  once 
since  we've  been  married.  My  own  money,  I  mean 
I  Ve  been  making  a  lot,  of  course,  but  it 's  all  tied  up 
I  'm  putting  it  up  as  margin  on  new  stocks.  We  're  due 
for  a  big  clean-up,  Jennie.  Ready  money  now  —  there 
isn't  any  such  thing!  That's  no  reason,  though,  why 
you  should  n't  have  a  necklace,"  he  consoled  her.  "  Find 
another  that  suits  you  and  get  it  —  only  buy  in  a  place 
where  I  have  credit.  And,  I  say,  Jennie,  after  you  have 
looked  things  over,  I  '11  come  along  and  help  you  make 
the  final  choice." 

Jennie  saw  that  this  way  of  raising  money  was  closed 
to  her.  "You're  awfully  good,  Kenneth.  But  I  don't 
really  need  the  necklace,  and  if  money  is  so  tight  now, 
I'd  rather  wait  until  it's  easier  again." 

Jennie  considered  other  possibilities.  Slim's  sugges- 
tion that  she  resort  to  her  natural  gift  for  forgery  did 
not  occupy  her  mind  for  a  moment.  And  his  suggestion, 
based  upon  his  cynical  conception  of  her  relation  with 
Mr.  Shipman,  that  she  ask  help  from  the  financier,  took 
no  more  of  her  time  for  a  negative  decision  to  be  reached. 
This  elimination  narrowed  her  possibilities  down  to  her 
father.  When  she  considered  approaching  him,  she  felt 
guilty;  during  these  last  few  months  of  her  rapid  rise, 
she  had  hardly  thought  of  him  at  all;  and  her  once 
sharply  defined  purpose  of  having  his  name  cleared  when 
she  had  gained  place  and  influence,  she  had  been  putting 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  335 

off  until  now  it  was  almost  forgotten.  But  there  was  no 
other  way  out  of  her  situation ;  she  had  to  see  her  father ; 
and  on  the  morning  following  her  talk  with  Kenneth 
about  jewels,  she  transmitted  a  message  to  her  father 
through  the  medium  of  Uncle  George. 

That  evening  she  dined  out  alone ;  she  had  known  in 
advance  that  press  of  business  was  going  to  keep  Ken- 
neth downtown  until  late.  On  arriving  at  her  hostess's 
house  in  the  East  Sixties,  she  dismissed  her  chauffeur 
for  the  night  saying  that  a  friend  had  promised  to  drive 
her  home.  At  ten  o'clock  she  excused  herself  to  her  host- 
ess, saying  she  had  promised  to  be  back  early.  The 
night  was  raw,  and  a  blustering  wind  swirled  through 
the  street.  This  gave  her  plausible  reason  for  wrapping 
her  scarf  around  hair  and  face  and  holding  her  cloak 
closely  beneath  her  chin,  so  that  she  was  completely 
muffled  except  for  her  eyes.  Only  one  who  knew  her  well 
could  have  identified  her.  She  slipped  around  the  cor- 
ner, and  southward  through  Madison  Avenue,  and  then 
west  through  Sixtieth  Street  to  the  New  Netherland 
Hotel  where  she  secured  a  taxicab.  Ten  minutes  later 
she  was  ringing  the  bell  of  Uncle  George's  apartment. 

Uncle  George  himself  admitted  her  and  gripped  her 
hand.  "Sent  my  Jap  out  to-night:  he's  safe  enough 
when  he  knows  everything,  but  he 's  still  safer  when  he 
does  n't  know  anything."  He  helped  her  out  of  her  coat 
and  scarf,  and  then  motioned  up  the  hallway.  "Jerry's 
waiting  in  my  sitting-room." 

Black  Jerry  was  already  on  his  feet  when  she  entered. 
She  came  to  a  hesitating  pause.  He  gazed  at  her  in  em- 
barrassed wonderment.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he 
was  seeing  his  daughter  in  an  evening  gown  —  and  a 
gown  whose  shimmering  elegance  was  a  symbol  of  the 


336  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

unbelievable  place  which  she  had  attained.  Four  times 
he  had  seen  her  since  he  had  sent  her  away  from  the 
Pekin  that  far-gone  night  in  a  cheap  serge  suit  —  and 
now  here  she  was,  this  dazzling  creature!  It  did  not 
seem  possible! 

Before  he  had  recovered  she  had  crossed  and  kissed 
him.  He  was  incapable  of  returning  her  kiss.  His  emo- 
tion self-defensively  sought  refuge  in  gruff  rebuke. 

"I  told  you  you  wasn't  to  see  me  again,  and  you 
promised  you  would  n't!  You  know  what  an  awful  risk 
it  is!" 

"  I  know,  dad.  But  something 's  happened  that  makes 
it  a  bigger  risk  for  me  not  to  see  you  than  for  me  to  see 
you.  I  simply  had  to  see  you." 

"What's  the  matter?" 

She  told  them  all  —  Uncle  George  had  entered  just 
behind  her  —  holding  back  only  the  identity  of  Slim 
Jackson.  "I  can't  get  the  money  from  Kenneth,"  she 
ended,  "and  if  I  don't  pay  I'll  be  pretty  certain  to  be 
exposed  and  that  will  end  things.  Since  your  money 
and  your  work  and  your  thinking  —  yours  and  Uncle 
George's  —  have  put  me  where  I  am,  and  since  what  I 
have  become  belongs  in  a  way  to  you,  I  felt  I  had  to  see 
you  and  ask  what  you  wanted  me  to  do." 

Black  Jerry  ignored  all  the  latter  part  of  her  state- 
ment. "Who's  the  guy  that's  holding  you  up?"  he  de- 
manded grimly.  And  then  sharply : "  Is  it  Slim  Jackson? " 

She  remembered  the  soft  menace  in  Slim's  parting 
words.  "No,  it's  not  Slim  Jackson,"  she  replied  in  a 
convincing  tone.  And  in  that  instant  memory  performed 
one  of  its  odd  tricks :  it  flashed  upon  her  that  long  ago  she 
had  lied  to  save  Slim  Jackson  from  his  share  of  blame 
for  that  forged  Morrison  check  which  had  brought  her 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  337 

into  the  Women's  Night  Court  —  and  now  here  again 
she  was  lying  to  save  him. 

''Was  it  Casey?"  demanded  Jerry. 

"No,"  Jennie  answered. 

"Sure  not,"  agreed  Uncle  George.  "Casey  is  one 
square  cop." 

"Was  it  the  judge  who  tried  you  that  night?  —  you 
remember?" 

"No,  it  was  not  the  judge." 

"Then  who  is  the  guy?"  Jerry  asked,  almost  explo- 
sively. 

"I'd  better  not  tell  you  —  in  fact,  he's  fixed  it  so  I 
don't  dare  tell  you  —  that  is,  unless  you  want  every- 
thing to  end  right  now.  Whether  you  want  things  to 
end,  that's  what  you've  got  to  decide  first." 

There  was  a  moment  of  silence.  "Jerry,"  Uncle 
George  said  presently,  "we  overlooked  one  little  bet 
when  we  planned  this  business  years  ago.  It  never  came 
into  our  thick  old  heads  that,  after  we  'd  landed  Jennie 
big,  some  pleasant  son-of-a-gun  might  tumble  to  it  all 
and  put  the  screws  on  Jennie.  And  yet  that  was  exactly 
what  was  bound  to  happen  —  sometime.  Well,  there's 
no  use  crying  over  spilled  ideas  we  never  had  to  spill. 
The  main  question  is,  as  Jennie  says,  what  are  we  going 
to  do  about  it?" 

"  Well,  I  'm  not  going  to  have  Jennie  lose  at  this  stage 
of  the  game,"  said  Black  Jerry  promptly.  "I'll  raise 
the  money  to-morrow  —  you  ain't  been  costing  me  any- 
thing lately,  Jennie  —  and  I  '11  get  it  around  to  you  in 
the  afternoon." 

"But,  dad,"  exclaimed  Jennie,  strangely  moved  by 
the  look  of  mixed  awe  and  pride  and  affection  and  harsh 
determination  in  the  face  of  her  big,  unhandsome  father 


338  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

—  "dad,  it's  awfully  good  of  you!  But  I'm  not  really 
asking  it  of  you.  You  have  already  done  so  much  for 
me  —  can  you  really  afford  it?  " 

"It's  my  business,  what  I  can  afford  and  what  I  can't 
afford,"  he  responded,  almost  roughly,  though  his  eyes 
were  still  ashine  with  awe  and  pride.  "After  your  get- 
ting 'way  up  where  you  are,  I  'm  not  going  to  let  some 
crook  upset  you  —  you  bet  not !  You  '11  get  the  money 
to-morrow  like  I  said."  Then  he  added  grimly:  "But 
if  I  ever  find  out  who  that  guy  is,  his  health  ain't  going 
to  be  what  it  once  was!" 

"Dad  —  you'd  better  be  careful  what  you  do!" 

"  I  '11  be  careful  of  just  one  thing  —  and  that  is  not  to 
give  you  away,"  was  the  grim  reply. 

After  that  there  was  a  moment  of  silence  among  them. 
Being  back  among  these  dominant  figures  of  her  earlier 
life  brought  to  her  mind  another  figure  of  that  period  — 
a  figure  that  in  the  gayety  and  success  and  general  rush 
of  events  she  had  thought  of  too  infrequently  of  late  — 
and  she  asked  them  if  they  had  any  news  of  Harry 
Edwards. 

"Yes,  I  visited  him  in  the  Tombs  just  a  few  days 
ago,"  Uncle  George  informed  her.  "There's  been  a  lot 
of  delay  about  his  trial  that  he  did  n't  quite  understand, 
but  he  expects  his  case  to  be  heard  in  a  month  or  so. 
He  was  as  sure  as  ever  about  getting  off  —  and  he  said 
Conway  was  ready  to  take  care  of  him  in  a  business  way 
as  soon  as  he  was  discharged.  He  was  restless,  naturally, 
but  there  is  nothing  at  all  for  you  to  worry  about, 
Jennie." 

When  Jennie  had  thought  of  Harry  during  the  past 
few  months,  her  thoughts  had  contained  an  element  of 
worry  on  her  own  account  —  the  possibility  of  her  being 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  339 

dragged  into  the  case.  That  element  was  now  reassured 
by  Uncle  George's  statement. 

"You  better  be  getting  on  home,"  Black  Jerry  spoke 
up  gruffly.  "Your  staying  around  where  I  am  is  taking 
an  unnecessary  chance.  You  remember  what  I  said  to 
you:  I  don't  want  to  see  you  again  unless  there's  an 
awful  bad  break  in  your  luck.  So-long." 

"Good-night,  dad." 

Almost  timidly  she  held  out  her  hand.  He  took  it, 
and  involuntarily  their  clasps  tightened.  The  pride 
which  had  smoldered  in  his  eyes  burst  into  flame  in  this 
last  moment  that  he  looked  upon  this  gorgeous  figure 
from  another  world  —  his  own  daughter. 

"You  sure  —  are  all  right  —  Jennie!"  he  exulted 
huskily. 

She  threw  her  bare  arms  around  his  great  neck  and 
kissed  his  dark  cheek.  He  caught  her  to  him  and  kissed 
her  passionately  in  return  —  and  for  a  moment  held 
her  close  in  his  great  arms.  Then  he  pushed  her  from 
him  almost  roughly. 

"You  get  out  of  this  and  get  home.  Good-night." 
And  he  turned  his  back  upon  her  and  stood  beside  the 
open  coal  fire,  and  did  not  look  at  her  again. 

Uncle  George  helped  her  on  with  her  things,  and  two 
minutes  later  she  was  speeding  away  in  a  taxicab.  And 
all  the  time  she  was  driving,  and  later  on  during  the 
night,  she  was  thinking  rapidly.  Though  Slim  had 
spoken  of  his  present  need,  she  knew  he  would  probably 
try  to  go  on  bleeding  her  to  the  very  end.  But  she  felt 
that,  during  the  breathing-space  provided  by  her  father's 
money,  she  could  devise  some  means  of  handling  the 
menace  represented  by  Slim.  Of  course,  it  was  going  to 
be  difficult,  and  it  would  require  self-restraint  and  cool 


340  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

nerves  on  her  part  so  that  Slim  might  not  guess  that 
she  was  undertaking  plans  of  self-defense.  But  without 
a  doubt,  she  could  do  it! 

But  one  fear,  one  doubt,  one  source  of  wonder,  she 
could  not  master  and  put  out  of  her  mind.  Suppose, 
after  all,  in  some  way,  Kenneth  should  find  out?  And 
if  Kenneth  should  find  out,  then  what  would  Kenneth 
do? 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

HOW  SLIM  PLAYED  HIS  CARDS 

BUT  Jennie's  very  success,  its  constant  and  insist- 
ent demands  upon  her,  worked  against  this  pur- 
pose to  make  her  success  more  secure.  There 
followed  now  a  period  of  days  and  nights  so  filled  with 
notable  social  events  that  Jennie  really  had  no  time  for 
the  thinking  she  had  promised  herself  to  do  concerning 
Slim  Jackson. 

Jennie  was  riding  at  the  very  top  now,  and  despite 
flurries  of  fear  and  dizziness,  she  felt  secure  in  her 
place.  Kenneth  —  she  had  certainly  made  good  for  him ; 
he  certainly  1  ad  no  reason  to  regret  his  choice!  In 
the  excitement  which  was  the  substance  of  her  life,  she 
believed  —  except  when  fears  did  break  in  and  torment 
her  —  that  she  had  won  magnificently.  She  feared  no 
recognition  from  the  public  of  her  childhood :  if  there  was 
to  be  recognition  and  unintentional  betrayal  from  that 
source,  it  would  have  come  long  ago.  And  as  for  the 
judge  who  had  berated  her  in  the  Night  Court  all  those 
years  ago,  how  he  had  fawned  before  her  at  Mrs.  Ship- 
man's  bazaar,  never  guessing  who  she  was!  As  for 
Harry  Edwards  —  she  kept  Harry  from  her  mind.  And 
as  for  Gloria  Raymond,  Gloria's  hatred  for  her  was 
without  limit,  and  Gloria  would  rejoice  to  strike  her  to 
the  heart,  but  Gloria  had  no  weapon.  Of  them  all,  Slim 
Jackson  was  the  only  source  of  uneasiness.  And  Slim 
she  would  checkmate  somehow  —  but  she  still  had  not 
found  the  "how." 

March  passed  in  this  brilliant  excitement,  in  which 


342  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 


period  Jennie  seemed  to  have  to  herself  only  the  time 
she  spent  in  sleeping  and  in  changing  from  one  gown  to 
another  —  and  "that  young  Mrs.  Kenneth  Harrison" 
became  more  of  a  figure  than  ever.  But  because  she  had 
not  taken  the  time  to  work  out  a  counter-plan  against 
Slim  Jackson,  she  twice  in  this  period  suffered  the  pen- 
alty. Twice  he  had  made  demands  upon  her  —  and 
there  had  been  nothing  for  her  but  twice  again  to  accept 
aid  from  her  father. 

At  the  end  of  a  chill  afternoon  early  in  April,  when 
she  came  out  of  Mrs.  Shipman's  house  where  there  had 
been  a  very  exalted  tea,  she  looked  about  for  her  car 
which  she  had  ordered  to  wait.  But  her  big  English- 
built  machine  did  not  wheel  slowly  to  the  curb,  and, 
moreover,  it  was  not  among  the  line  of  waiting  motors. 
Instead,  a  car  of  long  lines  and  small  coupe  body  drew 
up  to  the  curb,  and  out  of  this  stepped  a  figure  in  a 
heavy  motor  coat. 

"I'm  taking  you  home  to-night,  Jennie,"  said  the 
figure  in  a  low  voice. 

"Slim  Jackson!"  she  breathed. 

"I  sent  your  car  away  and  waited,"  he  explained. 
"I  wanted  to  have  a  little  visit  with  you." 

He  took  her  arm  to  assist  her  into  the  machine,  but 
she  stood  still  and  gazed  into  his  eyes.  His  lean,  hand- 
some face,  all  but  muffled  in  his  high  collar,  was  smiling 
amiably  —  but  a  smile  on  Slim's  face  never  had  been 
an  index  to  his  purpose.  Her  instinct,  rather  than  con- 
scious thought,  reminded  her  that  it  was  not  wisdom 
to  oppose  Slim's  wishes  unnecessarily;  so  she  stepped 
into  Slim's  closed  machine.  It's  tiny  body  was  low- 
slung  and  had  seats  only  for  two. 

"Sweet  little  car,"  Slim  remarked  pleasantly  as  he 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  343 

guided  the  machine  away.  "Just  the  thing  for  a  tete-cb- 
tete  —  that 's  what  I  bought  it  for.  A  man  often  wants 
to  take  a  pleasant  lady  out  when  he  does  n't  want  the 
long  ears  of  a  chauffeur  reaching  out  to  scoop  up  every 
word  that 's  above  a  whisper.  1 1  's  mighty  handy  —  and 
I  sure  do  love  this  bit  of  junk." 

They  had  turned  into  the  Park  and  had  swung  south- 
ward. "But  I  thought  you  were  taking  me  home!" 
exclaimed  Jennie. 

"I  am  —  only  not  directly,  Jen.  I  want  you  to  see 
how  swell  this  little  car  behaves." 

He  chattered  on,  his  words  flowing  readily.  Jennie 
suspected  some  purpose  behind  his  amiable,  light-man- 
nered exterior,  but  she  did  not  become  actively  suspi- 
cious until  the  car  passed  Twenty-third  Street  and  still 
kept  going  southward. 

"Where  are  you  going?"  she  demanded. 

"Down  to  Washington  Square,"  he  replied. 

But  at  Washington  Square  he  turned  the  car  east- 
ward and  began  twisting  among  the  broken  cross- 
streets  that  lie  across  Broadway  to  the  east  and  south 
of  the  Square.  She  caught  the  wrist  of  one  of  the  hands 
at  the  wheel. 

"Turn  this  car  right  back!"  she  breathed  sharply. 

"  I  will  —  in  a  few  n'nut  -,"  he  chuckled  softly,  with 
a  low  laugh.  "It1:-  b.eii  a  long  time  since  you  and  I 
have  visited  our  part  f  America.  Let 's  have  a  look  at 
what  the  old  place  is  like.  It's  all  right,  Jen" — no- 
foody  down  here  would  ever  connect  us  up,  the  Jennie 
Ivlalone  and  the  Slim  Jackson  that  used  to  be,  with  a 
smart  little  go-cart  like  this;  and,  anyhow,  they'd 
never  dream  of  us  being  down  here;  and  besides,  if 
anybody  really  saw  you,  why  done  up  in  furs  as  you 


344  ^  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

are,  nobody  would  ever  think  of  you  except  as  a  nose 
and  a  bunch  of  awfully  swell  clothes." 

They  shot  through  the  edge  of  Jennie's  old  country 
and  on  downtown.  Presently  Slim  slowed  his  car  till 
it  hardly  moved.  He  nodded  through  the  window  at 
his  right. 

"Never  did  care  much  for  that  type  of  architecture 
—  did  you,  Jen?" 

She  glanced  out.  Through  the  faintly  illumined  dusk 
she  saw  a  high  wall,  and  above  it  rows  of  grated  win- 
dows. With  a  leap  of  the  heart  she  recognized  the 
place.  It  was  the  Tombs. 

"Our  good  old  pal,  Harry  Edwards,  is  sure  up  against 
it."  said  Slim  in  what  sounded  a  voice  of  sober  sym- 
pathy. And  then,  in  a  tone  of  curiosity,  his  eyes  on  hei  : 
" That's  always  seemed  a  funny  case  to  me,  Jen  — 
almost  phony.  Remember  that  I  saw  you  and  Harry  up 
on  the  Grantham  roof  that  night  at  about  the  time 
Harry  is  said  to  have  croaked  Murdock.  Never  have 
been  just  able  to  figure  out  just  how  Harry  could  be  at 
two  places  so  far  apart  at  times  that  were  so  close 
together.  Could  you  ? ' ' 

The  overhead  light  in  the  car  had  not  been  switched 
on,  but  the  tiny  lamps  over  the  clock  and  the  mileage 
dial  gave  enough  illumination  for  her  to  make  out  his 
f?ce.  It  was  smiling  with  mockery.  She  was  suddenly 
tense;  breathlessly  she  waited  for  him  to  go  on — she 
expected  the  worst.  But  his  next  words  were  in  them- 
selves almost  casual. 

"Sometimes  hard  to  know  just  how  to  play  the  cards, 
isn't  it?" 

But  despite  the  casual  tone,  she  was  sure  that  Slim 
guessed,  or  knew,  something  of  the  truth  of  Harry's 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  34,5 

connection  with  the  Murdock  murder  —  and  guessed,  or 
knew,  something  of  her  connection  with  Harry's 
imprisonment.  But  how  much  did  he  know?  And  if  he 
knew,  how  would  he  use  it? 

She  was  so  engrossed  with  these  questions  that  when 
the  car  stopped,  she  did  not  know  for  the  first  instant 
where  they  were.  Then  she  again  glanced  out  the 
window. 

"Slim  Jackson  —  the  Pekin!"  she  breathed. 

"Yes,"  he  said  evenly.  "You  remember  I  told  you 
I  was  going  to  bring  you  home." 

For  the  moment  her  faculties  were  paralyzed.  Very 
coolly  Slim  drew  out  a  key,  slipped  it  into  a  slot  in  the 
steering-wheel,  and  locked  the  car. 

"This  is  where  we  get  out,  Jen." 

"But  we'll  be  recognized!"  she  exclaimed.  "And  — 
and  there's  father!" 

"No,  father  isn't  there."  He  grinned  at  her,  with 
just  a  flash  of  his  old-time  appreciation  of  his  own 
cleverness.  "Uncle  George  does  n't  know  it  but  Uncle 
George  sent  Black  Jerry  a  message  to  wait  for  him  at  the 
Astor  Hotel  grill  between  six  and  six-thirty.  Jerry  has 
just  about  now  reached  the  Astor  Hotel.  It 's  lucky 
people  are  used  to  seeing  all  kinds  of  cars  waiting  in 
front  of  J  .rry's  joint  —  so  this  won't  attract  any  atten- 
tion. We  ii  have  your  old  home  all  to  ourselves.  Come 
on  my  dear!" 

'  I  chall  not!"  breathed  Jennie. 

"No?  Do  just  as  you  plea,se.  But  if  you  don't  ask 
me  up  to  your  old  home  whil^  I  smoke  a  cigarette  or 
two,  I  '11  invite  the  people  in  the  Pekin  out  here  to  meet 
an  old  friend.  This  is  c  dead  hour  in  the  Pekin,  but 
there'll  be  half  a  dozen  or  so  in  there  who  remember 


346  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

you  and  who  will  be  delighted  to  meet  you  —  and  also 
surprised." 

He  stepped  out  of  the  car  and  made  for  the  Pekin's 
entrance.  She  recalled  in  a  flash  that  although  he  had 
adopted  "Jackson  Holt"  as  a  stage  name,  he  had  never 
tried  to  hide  his  identity,  and  that  therefore  he  had 
nothing  to  fear.  Instantly  she  was  out  of  the  car. 

"Slim!"  she  called  huskily;  "Slim!" 

He  turned  back  and  closed  the  door  of  the  car.  "I 
knew  you  wouldn't  deny  me  so  slight  a  request,"  he 
said  graciously,  and  guided  her  across  the  sidewalk. 
Fortunately  this  was  the  hour  when  the  Pekin's  neigh- 
borhood was  at  its  evening  meal,  so  the  street  was 
empty,  but  nevertheless  Jennie  pressed  her  furs  up  to 
her  very  eyes.  Inside  the  tiny  hallway,  its  gas  as  yet 
unlighted,  Slim  halted  her. 

"Remember  the  last  time  we  stood  here,  Jen?"  he 
whispered  in  good-humored  reminiscence.  "Five  years 
ago.  I  was  a  bum  actor  pulling  down  fifteen  a  week 
from  Black  Jerry  —  and  you  were  just  Jennie  Malone. 
And  I  tried  to  kiss  you  and  you  came  back  with  a 
peach  of  an  upper-cut.  You  sure  had  the  pep  in  the 
old  days,  Jen  —  same  as  you've  got  it  now!" 

He  chuckled  softly  and  directed  her  up  the  black 
stairway.  At  its  top  he  spoke  again. 

"Guess  you  and  Jerry  never  knew  it,  but  I  got  hold 
of  a  key  hi  the  good  old  times  —  and  I  still  have  it." 

He  unlocked  the  door,  pressed  her  through,  locked  it, 
and  lighted  the  gas.  For  all  her  throbbing  wonder  as  to 
Slim's  purpose,  she  glanced  around  her  girlhood's  home. 
She  had  not  seen  it  since  that  midnight  years  ago  wThen 
her  heart  had  driven  her  down  here  from  the  fresh  won- 
ders of  the  Harrisons'  house,  and  Casey  had  come  in 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  347 

unexpectedly  upon  his  escaped  prisoner  with  her  family 
and  had  given  her  her  chance  to  escape  back  to  her  great 
life.  The  little  sitting-room  was  furnished  just  as  of  old, 
only  to  her  new  eyes  it  seemed  unbelievably  dingy  and 
shabby.  With  the  eyes  of  the  trained  housekeeper  she 
saw  everywhere  the  careless  work  of  the  charwoman, 
and  a  sharp  pang  cut  her  through  that  her  father  had 
to  live  his  lonely  life  amid  such  dirt  and  inattention. 
And  then  she  noted  her  piano;  it  seemed  a  poor,  battered 
cripple,  indeed.  And  as  she  looked,  a  far-gone  scene 
came  back :  she  at  the  piano,  Harry  standing  beside  her, 
the  two  of  them  softly  singing  the  Barcarolle  from  the 
"Tales  of  Hoffmann"  when  Black  Jerry  and  Uncle 
George  had  entered,  Casey  behind  them  to  arrest  her 
for  that  Morrison  forgery  .  .  . 

She  was  brought  out  of  her  swift  retrospect  by 
Slim's  voice  beginning  to  hum,  "Be  it  ever  so  humble." 

She  turned  upon  him  quickly.  "Why  did  you  bring 
me  down  here?"  she  demanded. 

"Why?"  He  was  again  smiling  amiably.  "Isn't  it 
plain  enough?  I  thought  we  both  might  enjoy  a  tabloid 
version  of  Old  Home  Week." 

She  faced  him  squarely.  "Cut  out  your  funny  lines. 
What 'sit  for?" 

His  look  was  still  bland.  "Well,  it's  a  bit  like  Lhis, 
Jen,"  he  drawled.  "  I  've  been  wanting  to  come  to  a  real 
understanding  with  you  this  long  while,  but  you  have  n't 
given  me  ».  fair  chance.  It  struck  me  that  you  and  I 
might  get  down  to  business  a  little  better  if  both  of  us 
came  back  to  the  spot  we  both  started  from.  We  might 
then  appreciate  a  little  better  the  place  we've  reached, 
and  how  unpleasant  it  would  feel  to  return  to  what  we 
used  to  be.  Just  a  well-tried  stage  device,  my  dear  — 


348  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

to  bring  two  extremes  into  immediate  contrast.  The 
Park  Avenue  apartment  and  Mrs.  Shipman's  swell  tea 
on  the  one  hand  —  on  the  other  hand,  the  old  home 
above  the  Pekin.  Always  an  effective  bit  of  business, 
Jennie  —  one  of  the  first  things  I  learned  about  the 
stage." 

She  regarded  him  steadily.  "I  suppose,"  she  finally 
said,  her  voice  calm  enough,  "that  this  is  an  attempt  to 
blackmail  me  with  the  help  of  a  new  setting?" 

"You  always  were  quick  to  get  the  point,"  he  an- 
swered cheerfully.  "That 's  one  reason  I  always  thought 
it  such  a  pleasure  to  work  with  you.  I  sure  do  need  some 
money,  Jen  —  and  need  it  bad  and  quick." 

Jennie  did  some  quick  thinking.  She  realized  in  a 
flash  that  all  her  resources  would  some  day  fail  her, 
and  on  that  basis  she  would  then  have  to  face  him. 
She  pulled  herself  quickly  together. 

"I  have  been  fooling  with  you  long  enough,  Slim," 
she  returned,  regarding  him  squarely.  "We  might  as 
well  come  to  a  real  show-down  right  here." 

"A  show-down  —  that's  just  what  I've  been  want- 
ing, Jen.  A  real  sure-enough  show-down  —  that's  why 
I  brought  you  here." 

"I'm  here,  and  I  say  you'll  get  nothing  more  out  of 
me,"  she  replied  sharply.  "There  are  my  cards,  face  up." 

"That's  sure  a  n;fty  place  you  and  Kenneth  have 
uptown,"  he  reminded  her  softly,  his  narrowed  gray 
eyes  very  bland.  "And  Mrs.  Kenneth  Harrison  has  sure 
become  one  of  the  regular  swells.  And  I  have  an  idea 
it  seems  a  bit  nice,  having  a  dame  like  Mrs.  Shipman 
as  a  pal.  And  so  on  and  so  on  —  you  can  finish  the 
picture."  He  glanced  about  the  shabby,  neglected 
little  sitting-room.  "As  I  remarked  before,  Jennie,  I 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  349 

brought  you  from  Mrs.  Shipman's  down  here  in  order 
to  make  it  —  you  know  —  concrete  It  would  n't  be 
pleasant,  would  it,  to  come  back  here  and  be  just  Jennie 
Malone,  the  daughter  of  Black  Jerry  Malone?" 

"You  could  have  made  your  threat  more  direct,  Slim. 
In  spite  of  it  all,  my  answer  is  the  same.  You  get  nothing 
more  out  of  me." 

His  bland  expression  did  not  change.  "Mind  telling 
me  why  not,  Jen?" 

"It's  not  necessary  to  pay  you,"  she  said.  Now  that 
she  had  decided  to  defy  him,  she  felt  more  substance  to 
an  argument  her  hurried  mind  had  more  than  once 
urged  upon  her.  "And  it's  only  because  my  nerve  left 
me  that  I  Ve  paid  you  what  I  have.  As  Jennie  Malone, 
back  down  here,  I'd  not  be  worth  a  cent  to  you.  As 
Mrs.  Kenneth  Harrison  I  may  be  of  some  value  to  you. 
By  exposing  me,  you  'd  be  throwing  away  a  good  thing 

—  by  your  own  act  you  'd  turn  me  into  a  dead  loss  for 
yourself.   I  know  you  're  too  wise  a  crook  actually  to  do 
that.   There,  Slim  Jackson  —  that's  my  hand!" 

She  waited.   He  did  not  speak  for  a  moment  or  more 

—  and  when  he  did  it  was  with  the  same  bland  drawl. 
"And  a  good  hand  it  is,  too,  Jen.     I  had  an  idea 

that  some  day  you  'd  call  me.  In  fact,  I  Ve  rather  been 
wanting  you  to  call  me.  I  have  only  a  dinky  two  pairs. 
You  take  the  pot." 

She  managed  to  control  the  relief  she  felt.  "Since 
you  admit  that  to  be  the  case,  then  I  'm  going  home  — 
whether  you  take  me  or  not." 

He  caught  her  arm.  "Just  a  minute,  Jen.  We're 
going  to  open  a  fresh  deck,  and  there 's  going  to  be  a 
new  deal." 

"What's  the  idea?"  she  demanded. 


35 o  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

He  was  now  smiling.  "  I  Ve  already  told  you  part  of 
the  idea.  But  th^t  never  was  the  real  thing.  When  I 
helped  stage  that  little  scene  that  ended  in  your  marry- 
ing Kenneth,  why,  of  course,  I  saw  the  chance  of  get- 
ting a  bit  of  change  by  holding  you  up  after  you'd 
really  become  somebody.  I've  picked  up  the  change, 
and  that  part  of  the  show  is  over.  Now  for  the  second 
act,  now  for  the  fresh  deck!" 

His  voice,  no  longer  soft,  became  suddenly  vibrant 
with  intensity,  and  his  words  rushed  from  him  with  an 
earnestness  that  had  in  it  nothing  of  acting.  "Jennie, 
that  dancing  partner  of  mine,  Doris  Dorraine,  is  getting 
so  damned  rotten  that  every  night  I  'd  like  to  chuck  her 
over  the  footlights  into  the  bunch  in  the  first  rows  she 's 
always  showing  her  damned  teeth  at  in  what  she  thinks 
is  a  smile.  Jennie,  you  Ve  got  to  ready  yourself  for  the 
part  and  come  into  the  show.  What  with  the  wads  of 
publicity  you  'd  bring,  and  what  with  the  things  you  can 
actually  do,  the  piece  will  make  a  killing!  And  we'll 
keep  on  making  killings  —  you  and  I !" 

"Slim!"  she  broke  in,  gasping  at  his  passionate 
words.  "Slim!" 

He  was  such  a  Slim  now  as  she  had  never  known  him 
to  be,  trembling,  eyes  ablaze  with  eagerness.  "Jennie," 
his  words  tumbled  out,  "I've  played  a  long  game!  I 
was  willing  to  wait,  for  I  saw  that  to  do  it  in  a  big  way 
took  time.  But  the  time's  over.  You're  at  the  top, 
Jennie!  There 's  no  use  my  waiting  any  longer.  Jennie, 
I  love  you !  —  all  the  while  I  Ve  loved  you !  And  now 
we're  going  to  team  up  —  on  stage  and  off  —  like  I 
said  to  you  downstairs  long  ago!  Jennie  —  you're 
coming  with  me!" 

She  was  so  amazed  by  this  quivering,  passion-shaken 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  351 

Slim  that  for  a  space  she  could  command  no  words 
at  all. 

"Well?  "he  cried.   "Well?" 

"Slim  Jackson!"  she  breathed.  "You  suggest  such  a 
thing  to  me!  Why,  I  thought  you  were  a  friend  of 
Kenneth?" 

"So  I  am!"  he  returned,  with  a  half-savage  laugh. 
"  I  'm  a  friend  of  everybody.  But  the  man  whose  best 
friend  I  am  is  called  Slim  Jackson!" 

"You're  actually  proposing  that  I  run  away  with 
you  —  desert  my  husband?"  she  cried  incredulously. 
Then  with  vehemence:  "Slim,  I'll  never  do  it!" 

The  shock  of  her  vehement  declaration  partially  re- 
stored his  control,  but  his  eyes  still  glittered  with  excite- 
ment, and  his  words  still  came  rapidly.  "You  don't 
like  the  idea  of  the  scandal?  Well,  after  all,  there 
need  n't  be  any  scandal.  I  '11  wait  a  little  longer.  You 
can  get  a  divorce  and  come  to  me  straight.  And  you 
need  n't  worry  about  being  exposed  as  Jennie  Malone 
at  a  public  trial.  The  case  can  be  tried  by  a  referee  — 
sealed  papers,  you  understand  —  and  you  '11  get  big 
alimony.  And  there  '11  be  no  difficulty  at  all  about  get- 
ting a  decree.  There's  plenty  of  evidence,  and  I  can 
slip  it  right  into  your  hand!" 

She  was  now  looking  at  his  excited,  lean  face,  her 
soul  suddenly  sick.  ' '  Evidence  of — of  that  kind  ?  "  she 
whispered.  "Since  —  since  we  were  married? " 

"What's  wrong  Jen?  You 're  not  trying  to  make  me 
think  you  really  c*re  for  Kenneth?  Say,  don't  try  to 
put  that  over  —  I  know  better!" 

"You  mean  he 's  —  you  mean  evidence  of  that  kind?  " 
she  repeated. 

"God,  Jen,  are  you  such  a  sweet  innocent  little  boob 


352  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

as  all  that!"  His  incredulity  was  so  great  that  his  face 
relaxed  into  a  smile.  "Honest,  Jen,  I  didn't  think 
you'd  ever  show  yourself  such  a  country  kid  as  that. 
What's  wrong  with  you?  —  beginning  to  believe  in 
that  ancient  junk  the  pulpit  ballyhoo  artists  try  to  put 
across?  Wake  up,  kid!  Come  back  to  America  and  the 
twentieth  century.  Listen  —  it's  up  to  you  to  get  wise 
to  your  husband.  Kenneth  was  sure  gone  on  you  the 
first  few  months,  and  he's  mighty  proud  of  you  now 
—  he  sure  ought  to  be,  the  way  you  're  putting  yourself 
and  him  across.  But  when  it  comes  to  the  girl  propo- 
sition—  well,  he's  a  smooth  article,  Kenneth  is,  and 
has  never  used  a  press  agent  —  but  there  were  a  lot  of 
girls  in  Kenneth's  life  before  his  marriage,  and  there 
have  been  one  or  two  since.  I  guess  you  get  me.  Wrhy, 
if  you  want  evidence,  Doris  Dorraine  herself  — 

"I  don't  believe  you!"  Jennie  flared  at  him.  "You 
always  were  a  liar,  Slim  Jackson,  and  you  still  are  a  liar! 
You  Ve  tried  to  frighten  me  by  bringing  me  back  here. 
Well,  do  anything  you  like!  I  won't  go  with  you  in  the 
way  you  propose !  I  would  n't  go  with  you  even  if  I  were 
free!  I  would  n't  go  with  you  even  if  you  were  the  last 
man  alive !  I  hate  you  —  loathe  you  —  you  crook,  you 
schemer  — " 

He  caught  her  into  a  fierce  embrace.  "That  makes  us 
two  of  a  kind.  Oh,  yes,  you  are  coming  along  with  me! 
You  may  not  believe  it,  but  you  are!  I've  waited  for 
you  long  enough !  You  're  mine  —  mine ! ' ' 

She  struggled  silently  to  free  herself.  She  dared  not 
cry  out  for  fear  of  bringing  up  a  crowd  from  the  Pekin; 
and  the  thick  old  rug  muted  the  movements  of  their 
swaying  bodies.  But  she  could  not  break  the  clasp  of 
those  wiry  arms.  Then  she  leaned  back  as  far  in  his  em- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  353 

brace  as  she  could,  and  hammered  at  his  face  —  just  as 
she  had  done  that  other  time  he  had  tried  to  kiss  her 
ages  ago  down  in  the  hallway.  He  accepted  the  blows 
with  unaverted  face,  laughing;  the  range  was  too  short 
for  her  fists  to  gain  a  really  paining  drive. 

"Keep  it  up,  Jen!"  he  taunted  her.  "I  love  it!  For 
every  time  you  land,  I'm  going  to  collect  a  kiss.  So 
the  more,  the  better!" 

Pantingly,  wordlessly,  she  fought  him  off.  But  his 
arms  tightened,  his  face  approached  hers  inch  by  inch. 
"I  see  I've  got  to  break  you  in,  Jen,"  he  exclaimed, 
"and  here's  where  I  do  it!  " 

She  did  not  know  that  she  could  hate  with  such  fury  as 
she  hated  that  smiling,  nearing,  eager  face.  She  fought 
until  she  felt  that  she  was  about  to  burst  with  her 
breathing:  fought  not  so  much  out  of  fear  of  anything 
Slim  might  then  intend  doing  her,  as  she  fought  out  of  a 
boundless  loathing.  And  yet,  struggle  as  she  would, 
nearer  came  the  eager,  smiling,  confident  face  —  ever 
nearer. 

And  then,  in  her  frantic  fighting,  she  remembered 
that  there  was  once  a  button  which  rang  a  bell  down 
in  Jerry's  office,  a  signal  that  he  was  wanted  above.  She 
slowly  maneuvered  toward  it  —  reached  out  a  hand  to 
the  spot  where  it  used  to  be  —  it  was  still  there !  —  and 
pressed  it.  The  next  moment  she  was  struggling  again 
—  struggling  with  only  faint  hope  in  that  bell,  for 
Slim  had  tricked  her  father  away  on  a  fool's  errand  — 
struggling  against  a  strength  that  outmatched  hers  — 
a  strength  that  slowly,  steadily,  was  breaking  her  down. 

And  then,  just  as  it  seemed  that  her  last  strength 
had  gone  and  that  Slim's  hated  lips  would  inevitably 
collect  a  kiss  as  his  first  token  of  victory,  there  were 


354  ^  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

sounds  at  the  door.  The  next  instant  she  almost  col- 
lapsed, so  suddenly  was  she  freed  from  the  support  of 
Slim's  taut  arms;  and  there  was  Slim,  yanked  back- 
ward by  the  great  hand  of  her  father  clutching  his  col- 
lar, and  there  was  her  father's  dark  face  glowering  con- 
vulsively upon  him,  and  there  closing  the  door  was 
Uncle  George. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

LIFE  SETS  A  PROBLEM 

BLACK  JERRY  shook  Slim  as  though  he  were  but 
a  straw's  weight.    "What 're  you  doing  here?  — 
and  to  my  daughter?"  he  gritted. 

Whatever  else  he  might  be,  Slim  Jackson  was  no 
physical  coward.  Yet  he  paled  at  the  fierce  look  in  the 
dark  face,  at  the  tremulous,  unleashed  power  in  the  big 
body,  of  the  man  he  thought  he  had  got  safely  out  of 
the  way.  He  knew  his  life  hung  in  the  balance.  Never- 
theless, Slim  kept  his  wits.  He  realized  instantly  that 
he  had  to  stake  his  all  upon  a  bold  play  —  upon  a  pos- 
sibility that  might  no  longer  exist. 

"Slow  down,  Jerry;  you're  seeing  this  thing  all 
wrong,"  he  said.  "Jennie  and  I  were  waiting  for  you  — 
and  while  we  waited  we  just  got  into  one  of  our  old- 
time  scraps." 

"Don't  try  any  bunk  on  me!"  Jerry  warned  him. 
"  Don't  feel  too  confident  just  because  I  'm  holding  you 
by  your  collar  instead  of  by  your  throat.  I  may  want 
to  kill  you,  and  if  I  held  you  by  the  throat  the  finger- 
prints would  show  —  and  if  I  ever  kill  you  nothing's 
going  to  show.  So  you'd  better  change  your  nature, 
Slim,  and  spill  out  a  little  truth!" 

There  was,  indeed,  Slim  saw,  nothing  for  him  but  to 
continue  to  play  what  might  be  a  long  chance.  "Hon- 
est, Jerry,  it's  just  like  I  said.  Jennie  and  I  simply  got 
to  scrapping  the  way  we  used  to  do.  Ask  Jennie." 

"  It  did  n't  look  much  like  it ! "  retorted  Jerry.  But  he 
turned  to  his  daughter.  "How  about  it,  Jennie?" 


356  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Jennie  hesitated.  Slim  watched  her  breathlessly.  At 
that  instant  Jennie  felt  not  so  much  fear  on  her  own  be- 
half as  fear  of  what  her  father  might  do  and  its  conse- 
quences to  him. 

"It's  just  as  Slim  said,"  she  managed  to  say.  "We 
—  we  forgot  ourselves  and  began  scrapping  —  just  as 
though  we  were  kids  again." 

"Are  you  sure  about  that?"  Jerry  demanded  of 
Jennie  in  his  tense  gruffness.  "You  know  I've  some- 
times thought  he's  the  guy  that's  been  blackmailing 
you.  If  he  is,  say  the  word  and  he'll  never  trouble  you 
no  more.  Uncle  George  will  first  help  you  make  your 
get-away  back  uptown  where  you  belong.  After  you're 
gone,  I  '11  twist  Slim's  neck  and  then  let  him  slide  down 
the  stairway.  Nobody  can  ever  prove  but  what  it  was 
an  accidental  fall  down  the  stairway  that  broke  his  neck. 
How  about  it,  Jennie?  I  know  he's  a  crook,  and  has 
always  been  a  crook  —  but  is  he  the  man?" 

Again  Slim  held  his  breath.  And  again  Jennie  did 
not  answer  for  an  instant.  She  saw  relief,  instant  re- 
lief, from  all  the  danger  to  herself  that  Slim  personified. 

But  again  she  thought  chiefly  of  her  father.  She  re- 
membered how  the  charge  of  a  double  murder  of  which 
he  was  innocent  had  darkened  all  his  life.  With  such 
a  character  as  he  already  bore,  and  the  charge  of 
another  murder  which  might  be  made  against  him, 
why  — 

''No,  Slim  is  not  the  man,"  she  interrupted  her  swift 
thoughts  to  say. 

"You're  sure  about  that?" 

"I'm  sure,  dad." 

"Well,  I'm  not  so  sure,"  grunted  Jerry.  He  turned 
again  on  Slim.  "What  did  you  come  up  here  for?" 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  357 

Slim's  courage  was  now  well  in  hand.  "That 's  simple, 
Jerry.  I  came  because  Jennie  asked  me  to.  She  said 
she  wanted  to  see  you  again,  and  the  old  place.  She 
asked  me  because  she  wanted  company  and  I  was  the 
only  one  of  her  present  friends  who  knew  who  she 
really  was.  That's  all  there  is  to  it." 

"Is  that  so,  Jennie?"  Black  Jerry  demanded. 

"Yes,  dad,"  she  answered. 

"I'm  not  so  sure  about  that  either,"  he  returned. 
"I  guess  you  remember  how  many  times  I've  ordered 
you  not  to  take  the  risk  of  coming  around  me." 

It  made  her  sick,  this  lying  to  save  Slim  Jackson.  But 
then  she  was  really  lying  to  save  her  father.  "  I  remem- 
ber, dad  —  but  I  —  I  —  just  wanted  to  see  you." 

There  was  something  Slim  had  been  wondering  about 
since  Black  Jerry's  unexpected  entrance  —  that  mes- 
sage of  his  which  should  have  kept  Jerry  uptown.  "But 
there's  one  thing  I  don't  just  get,  Jerry.  Jennie  said 
you  'd  be  sure  to  be  in  at  this  time,  but  we  Ve  been  hang- 
ing around  here  half  an  hour.  Where  the  devil  have  you 
been?  —  that's  what  Jennie  does  n't  understand." 

"Been  downstairs  in  my  office  with  Uncle  George  here 
all  the  time  till  that  bell  rang  —  except  for  a  few  min- 
utes." 

Slim  tried  to  make  his  query  seem  casual.  "Except 
for  a  few  minutes?" 

Jerry  addressed  Uncle  George,  his  tone  meditative. 
"That  message  I  got  from  you  saying  you  wanted  me 
to  meet  you  uptown  still  seems  mighty  strange  —  when 
you  never  sent  it,  and  yet  when  you  actually  did  want 
to  see  me." 

"It  certainly  is  some  coincidence,"  agreed  Uncle 
George. 


358  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Those  few  minutes  you  were  out  must  have  been 
when  we  came  in,"  remarked  Slim.  "When  was  that?" 

"About  an  hour  ago,"  replied  Jerry.  "I  had  just 
started  uptown  to  meet  Uncle  George  like  the  message 
said,  when  I  bumped  into  Uncle  George  coming  down 
to  see  me." 

"Just  got  an  idea,  Jerry,"  said  Uncle  George.  "That 
message  may  have  been  sent  by  some  friend  of  Harry 
Edwards  who  did  n't  dare  show  his  hand." 

"Harry  Edwards!"  Jennie  exclaimed. 

"Yes,  Harry  Edwards  is  what  we've  been  talking 
about,"  the  old  man  answered  slowly.  "And  we'd  de- 
cided that  I  was  to  manage  to  meet  you  somewhere 
and  put  the  situation  up  to  you.  But  since  you're  here, 
I  guess  we  might  as  well  talk  the  situation  over  now." 

"What  situation,  Uncle  George?"  she  breathed. 

"Wait  a  minute,"  interposed  Black  Jerry.  "Want  to 
talk  with  Slim  around?" 

"I  guess  there  can't  be  much  Slim  does  n't  know  al- 
ready or  won't  know  soon,"  replied  the  old  man  with  a 
gaze  of  disfavor  on  Slim.  "But  it  helps  my  eyes  when  I 
don't  have  to  look  on  him,  and  the  breathing  seems 
easier.  Suppose  you  just  shove  him  into  one  of  the  bed- 
rooms —  it  does  n't  matter  much  if  he  does  hear ;  he  may 
be  handy  to  take  Jennie  home  when  we  're  through." 

Black  Jerry  gripped  Slim's  arm  and  started  him  to- 
ward a  door.  ' '  Come  along ! ' ' 

"Needn't  use  force,  Jerry,"  Slim  protested  pleas- 
antly. "Glad  to  be  your  guest  as  long  as  you  like." 
Drawing  out  a  thin  cigarette  case  of  filigreed  silver,  he 
passed  into  what  had  been  Jennie's  room  in  the  years 
gone  by.  Jerry  closed  the  door,  locked  it,  and  pocketed 
the  key. 


A  Daughter  of  Tzvo  Worlds  359 

"We'd  better  all  have  a  chair,"  suggested  Uncle 
George.  "There's  quite  a  bit  to  say." 

They  all  sat  down,  and  Jennie  waited  tensely.  There 
was  a  moment  or  two  of  silence,  the  two  men  regarding 
Jennie  steadily. 

Uncle  George  broke  the  silence.  "It  sure  is  one  hell 
of  a  proposition,"  he  said  in  a  slow,  grave  voice. 

"But  you  have  n't  told  me  yet  what  the  proposition 
is!"  cried  Jennie. 

"Years  ago,"  Uncle  George  went  on  as  if  she  had  not 
spoken,  "Jerry  and  I  tried  to  manage  your  life  for  you. 
You  were  only  a  kid  then,  so  our  butting  in  was  all  right. 
But  you're  a  grown  woman  now,  and  we  feel  you've 
got  to  decide  the  business  for  yourself.  It 's  about  Harry 
Edwards  I  'm  talking.  You  know  how  things  stand  with 
him?" 

"Only  that  he  expects  to  get  off  when  his  case  comes 
to  trial." 

"Well,  it's  not  going  to  turn  out  like  that,"  Uncle 
George  announced  with  quiet  solemnity. 

"No?"  she  cried,  half  starting  from  her  chair.  "Why 
not?" 

"For  several  reasons.  We'll  come  to  them.  But  first, 
you  and  I  know  he  did  n't  kill  Murdock  —  and  we  know 
he  went  to  the  Tombs  and  let  some  evidence  be  piled 
up  against  him  in  order  to  shield  another  man.  We 
know  that,  too,  don't  we?" 

"Yes." 

"And  I  guess  we  know  who  Harry  went  to  jail  to  pro- 
tect —  and  I  guess  we  have  a  guess  as  to  who  really 
killed  Larry  Murdock." 

"Sam  Conway!" 

"Exactly.    Sam  Conway.    I  haven't  a  doubt  that 


360  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Sam  Conway  himself  shot  Murdock.  I  don't  know 
whether  Conway  was  in  earnest,  and  honestly  thought 
he  could  really  do  it,  when  he  promised  to  get  Harry 
off  if  Harry  would  draw  attention  away  from  Conway 
by  standing  for  the  Murdock  murder.  As  I  say,  I  don't 
know  what  was  in  Conway's  mind  then.  But  I  know 
what 's  in  his  mind  now.  A  lot  of  things  have  happened 
since  last  summer.  For  one  thing,  the  death  of  Murdock 
has  made  Conway  a  much  bigger  political  figure  in  this 
town,  and  a  lot  of  things  go  exactly  the  way  Conway 
wants  them  to  go.  In  the  second  place,  that  Murdock 
affair  has  just  taken  such  a  twist  that  there  has  got  to 
be  a  conviction.  The  way  things  stand  now,  Conway 
could  n't  help  Harry  even  if  he  wanted  to  —  not  unless 
he  was  willing  to  do  more  than  Sam  Conway  will  ever 
be  wrilling  to  do.  In  short,  it's  got  to  be  either  Conway 
or  Harry  —  and  it's  not  going  to  be  Conway." 

"Uncle  George!"  gasped  Jennie. 

"Conway  is  going  to  use  all  his  power  to  save  him- 
self," the  old  man  went  on.  "Those  witnesses  who 
gave  testimony  against  Harry  at  the  preliminary  hear- 
ing are  not  going  to  disappear  as  promised,  but  are  going 
to  take  the  stand  against  Harry  —  and  there  wrill  be 
other  witnesses.  Harry's  case  comes  up  for  trial  in  a 
month  or  so  —  whenever  the  District  Attorney  feels 
like  it.  No  story  Harry  can  tell  now  about  Conway's 
asking  him  to  stand  for  the  trial,  and  nothing  else  he 
can  say,  will  be  believed.  It  will  sound  mighty  cheap. 
The  way  things  are  fixed,  the  verdict  is  the  same  as 
rendered  and  the  sentence  the  same  as  pronounced.  And 
I  don't  need  to  tell  you  what  the  sentence  is  going  to  be. 
There  —  that 's  how  the  case  stands.  We  thought  you 
ought  to  know." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  361 

"My  God!"  she  breathed,  appalled.  "And  Harry 
was  so  sure  Sam  Conway  would  get  him  off!" 

"Sam  Conway,  to  save  himself,  is  doing  his  damned- 
est to  get  Harry  sent  up.  Harry  does  n't  have  a  chance. 
That  is,  unless  — " 

He  paused,  his  old  eyes  fixed  on  her  steadily.  Sud- 
denly sick,  dizzy,  as  never  before,  she  knew  the  uncom- 
pleted part  of  Uncle  George's  sentence.  But  none  the 
less  her  dry  lips  asked : 

"Unless  what,  Uncle  George?" 

"  Unless  you  were  to  state  that  you  were  with  him  on 
the  Grantham  roof  at  the  very  time  the  murder  was 
committed  over  near  Third  Avenue." 

" But  —  but  —  Uncle  George!"  she  breathed. 

"Of  course,  I  could  help  alibi  him,"  the  old  man  con- 
tinued. "And  I  could  get  that  little  elevator  man  to 
help  out  with  the  alibi.  But  that  would  be  certain 
to  drag  you  in  somehow,  Jennie;  and  I  'm  not  going  to 
make  a  move  without  your  O.K.  Now  it's  all  up 
to  you,  Jennie.  Are  we  going  to  do  anything  to  help 
Harry?" 

Terror  seized  upon  her  as  her  swift  mind  visualized 
herself  on  the  witness-stand  down  in  the  Criminal  Courts 
Building.  "But  —  but  —  if  I  went  on  the  stand  —  the 
District  Attorney  — "  She  could  get  out  no  more. 

"That's  exactly  it,"  Uncle  George  said  gravely.  "Of 
course,  you'd  clear  Harry,  but  the  District  Attorney 
would  cross-examine  you  until  he  'd  found  out  every  last 
word  about  you.  And  what  he'd  learn  would  give  New 
York  the  biggest  jolt  it 's  had  for  years." 

She  did  not  speak:  her  tense  faculties  were  all  en- 
grossed in  considering  the  consequences.  Certainly  it 
would  all  come  out  —  who  she  was  —  the  bold  and 


362  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

successful  pretense  she  had  practiced  upon  the  great 
world  —  even  that  far-distant  incident  of  her  running 
away  to  escape  sentence  for  forgery.  Her  whole  being 
was  in  violent  revulsion.  It  was  n't  fair!  Why,  oh,  why, 
had  Fate  played  such  a  trick  upon  her,  just  when  every- 
thing was  going  at  its  best?  .  .  . 

Uncle  George  had  seen  the  struggle  going  on  within 
her,  and  he  had  waited.  But  at  length  he  spoke. 

"Well,  how  about  it,  Jennie?" 

But  her  father  spoke  before  Jennie  could  reply.  He 
had  not  said  a  word  during  all  this  talk.  But  now  as  he 
spoke,  his  face  was  defiant,  dogged. 

"After  all  the  hard  work  there's  been  to  get  Jennie 
'way  up  where  she  is,  I  don't  see  where  we're  called  on 
to  make  a  mess  of  it  all  just  because  one  guy  has  got  in 
bad." 

"  I  don't  say  we  have,"  returned  Uncle  George.  "  It 's 
just  a  matter  of  which  of  two  ways  will  make  Jennie 
happiest.  Deciding  which  is  her  business,  Jerry;  we 
don't  knew  which  will  suit  her  best;  that's  why  we  de- 
cided it  was  best  to  tell  her.  Now,  Jennie,  it 's  all  up  to 
you.  Jerry  and  I  stand  by  whatever  you  want." 

"But  —  but  — "  she  breathed  desperately  —  "surely 
there's  some  other  way!" 

"I've  been  over  it  with  Harry's  lawyer;  cleverest 
lawyer  that  we  could  hire.  He  does  n't  think  Harry  has 
a  chance  in  a  million.  But  he  does  n't  know  the  cards 
we  hold  —  if  we  want  to  play  them." 

"And  Harry?  Have  you  seen  him?  What  is  Harry 
going  to  do?" 

"He'll  keep  you  out  of  it  unless  you  come  in  of  your 
own  choice.  He's  going  to  say  he'd  been  drinking  that 
evening  —  does  n't  remember  much  about  that  night  — 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  363 

is  sure  he  did  n't  kill  Murdock.  But  with  all  the  testi- 
mony against  him,  that  sort  of  talk  can't  help  him  a 
nickel's  worth  in  a  first-degree  murder  charge."  Uncle 
George  slowly  shook  his  head.  "No,  there's  only  those 
two  ways  I  said  —  no  others.  But  you  need  n't  make 
up  your  mind  to-night,  Jennie.  Take  your  time  to  think 
it  all  over,  and  then  send  us  word." 

Jennie  turned  to  her  father.  "Which  shall  I  do, 
dad?" 

"  It 's  up  to  you  to  say  what  you  want.  Harry  Edwards 
and  all  the  others  can  go  to  hell.  You're  the  only  one 
who  counts  for  anything  in  this  business  with  me." 

And  then  he  added  brusquely.  "Do  your  thinking 
at  home.  You  'd  better  make  your  get-away  from  here 
before  too  many  people  begin  to  trail  into  my  joint. 
Some  one  might  see  you."  He  crossed  and  opened  the 
door  of  Jennie's  old  room.  "Come  on,  Slim;  time  for 
you  to  be  hitting  the  trail  uptown  with  Jennie." 

Slim  stepped  jauntily  forth,  hiding  a  well-acted  yawn. 
"Had  a  nice  little  nap,  Jerry.  Thanks  for  putting  me 
up.  Shall  I  tip  the  chambermaid?" 

"Better  cut  out  your  comedy  stuff,"  growled  Jerry, 
glaring  at  him.  Just  then  Black  Jerry  was  filled  with 
impotent  rage  against  Fate  —  just  as  Jennie  was;  and 
Slim  was  the  nearest  target  for  his  wrath.  "You  think 
you've  traveled  a  long  ways  since  you  used  to  sling 
your  limber  legs  down  here  for  a  few  bones  a  week.  But 
I  don't  trust  you  and  I  'm  going  to  watch  you  —  and 
you  have  n't  gone  up  so  far  that  I  can't  reach  up  and 
twist  off  your  damned  neck  any  time  I  think  you're 
trying  to  put  any  queer  business  across  on  my  Jennie. 
Now,  you  get  out  of  here,  quick,  and  no  funny  lines  as 
you  go  off  the  stage!" 


364  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Grimly  Jerry  pushed  Slim  toward  the  door.  Slim  was 
still  smiling,  but  he  said  nothing;  he  had  gained  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  wisdom,  had  Slim.  Jerry  pushed  him 
through  and  turned  on  Jennie. 

"In  making  up  your  mind,  don't  you  think  about 
anybody  but  yourself,"  he  ordered  gruffly.  "Good- 
night." 

His  manner  was  forbiddingly  peremptory  and  gruff. 

"Good-night,"  Jennie  said  in  a  faint  voice,  and  to 
Uncle  George  she  nodded,  then  she  slipped  through  the 
door  without  even  so  much  as  a  farewell  glance  at  her 
old  home.  She  knew  her  father  loved  her,  but  she  could 
not  know  the  trouble  and  concern  and  worry  and  the 
will  for  desperate  deeds  she  left  on  the  other  side  of  the 
closed  door  in  Black  Jerry's  heart. 

At  the  foot  of  the  darkened  stairway  Slim's  shadowy 
form  awaited  her.  He  slipped  a  hand  through  her  arm, 
and  laid  hold  of  the  knob  of  the  side  door  through  which 
she  used  to  steal  into  the  Pekin. 

"Remember  our  last  dance  in  there,  Jen?"  he  whis- 
pered. "How  about  it?  —  Let 's  go  in  and  show  the  old 
dump  how  we  used  to  dance." 

She  knew  he  was  only  trying  to  provoke  her,  that  he 
had  no  more  desire  than  herself  to  enter;  yet  so  high- 
strung  was  she  at  that  moment  that  she  could  not  refrain 
from  jerking  him  forward  and  exclaiming,  "Come  on!" 

"Somehow,  Jennie,  you're  losing  your  old  pep,"  he 
grumbled  at  her  on  the  way  to  the  front  door. 

The  street  was  clear,  and  a  few  minutes  later  they 
were  out  of  the  neighborhood  and  out  of  danger.  But 
Jennie  had  too  much  to  think  of  to  have  anything  to 
say,  and  she  allowed  Slim's  many  attempts  at  opening 
a  conversation  to  go  unnoticed  —  until  he  remarked : 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  365 

"I  say,  Jennie,  tell  an  old  friend  just  what  is  that 
business  between  you  and  Harry  Edwards?" 

"That  business  is  none  of  your  business!"  she  re- 
turned sharply. 

"Ouch ! "  he  said  with  a  soft  laugh.  By  this  time  they 
were  nearing  Jennie's  home.  "Look  at  me,  Jennie." 
She  did  so ;  he  spoke  quietly,  with  none  of  his  previous 
taunting,  teasing  tone.  "Here  is  something  that  is  my 
business.  And  this  is  the  last  call  for  the  dining-room 
—  for  me,  at  any  rate.  Was  that  final,  what  you  said 
before  your  father  came  in  —  that  you  are  not  going 
to  team  up  with  me  later?" 

Here  was  one  matter  that  had  no  two  sides  for  Jennie. 
"That  was  and  is  final!"  she  said  emphatically,  as  the 
car  slowed  down.  "And  what's  more,  I've  learned  I 
don't  have  to  pay  you  blackmail  any  more.  So  we're 
through,  Slim  Jackson!" 

He  regarded  her  steadily,  thoughtfully.  "So!"  His 
gray  eyes  narrowed  and  for  an  instant  flashed  with  a 
strange  look  —  then  they  were  the  same  as  before. 

"So,  we're  through,  are  we,  Jennie?"  he  murmured 
in  an  even  tone  as  he  helped  her  out.  "All  right. 
Good-bye." 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

JENNIE  THINKS  IT  OVER 

IN  the  days  that  followed  —  in  the  wonderful  home 
that  was  hers  —  as  she  hurried  about  other  homes 
yet  more  wonderful  in  which  she  was  always  wel- 
come—  Jennie  was  feverishly  thinking  —  thinking! 
This  world  was  hers  —  she  had  worked  for  it  —  she 
had  won  it.  Never  before  had  it  seemed  to  her  so  bril- 
liant, so  desirable. 

But  always  she  was  thinking  of  what  she  should  do 
about  Harry  —  what  should  be  the  answer  she  had 
promised  to  send  back  to  Uncle  George  and  her  father. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  the  period  when  the  soul  of 
Jennie  went  through  its  sorest  trial  —  that  young  soul 
as  it  was  moulded  and  directed  by  her  long  childhood 
down  at  the  Pekin,  by  her  years  of  transformation  at 
Braithewood  Hall,  by  her  father's  point  of  view  and 
his  rough  love  of  her,  by  her  own  ambitions,  and  lately 
by  the  life  on  this  upper  level  where  she  now  lived.  But 
she  took  no  time  for  the  searching  of  her  own  soul,  for 
a  careful  study  of  the  fundamental  materials  of  her  own 
being.  Had  she  done  so,  a  decision  might  have  been 
simpler. 

Her  thoughts  were  forever  swerving  around  to  Ken- 
neth, and  were  forever  repeating  themselves.  If  she 
went  to  Harry's  rescue,  Kenneth  would,  of  course,  find 
out;  and  if  she  did  not,  he  might  find  out  anyway.  Ken- 
neth, in  his  relation  with  her  fate,  was  inextricably  con- 
nected with  Harry's  case  —  and  yet  to  her  he  was  also 
an  entirely  separate  problem. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  367 

She  had  been  strong,  she  had  kept  her  nerve,  she  had 
managed  life  —  and  yet,  despite  all  her  present  efforts 
at  self-control,  her  fear  kept  on  mounting  and  mounting 
until  within  herself  there  was  a  never-subsiding  panic. 
And  the  heart  of  it  all  remained  ever  the  same:  Suppose 
Kenneth  should  find  out?  And  what  would  Kenneth  do? 

Her  concern  was  so  acute  not  because  she  loved  him : 
she  knew  no  more  now  whether  she  really  loved  Kenneth 
than  she  had  known  when  he  had  proposed  to  her  down 
on  the  landing-platform  at  Silver  Bluffs  —  she  had  been 
far  too  busy  to  turn  an  analytical  eye  upon  her  affec- 
tions: but  she  admired  him  as  she  had  then,  and  they 
had  had  the  excitement  of  a  dazzling  rise  together.  The 
great  central  cause  of  her  fear  was,  that  though  she 
had  builded  for  herself  so  wonderful  a  career,  she  had 
builded  it  entirely  upon  Kenneth.  She  was  now  reap- 
ing the  consequences  of  the  fundamental  idea  by  which 
she  had  thought  to  hold  him  to  herself  —  her  plan  to 
push  him  to  the  top  of  the  business  world,  her  plan  to 
win  to  the  social  crest  and  carry  him  with  her.  Despite 
her  personal  ambition,  she  had  been  careful  to  make 
herself  "Mrs.  Kenneth  Harrison."  Yes,  all  the  splendid 
structure  of  her  life  was  builded  on  Kenneth ! 

Her  highly  excited  mind  was  forever  visualizing  the 
moment  of  exposure.  She  could  see  his  horrified  amaze- 
ment —  could  see  his  face  tighten  with  wrath. 

This  became  an  obsession  with  her.  She  waited  with 
sickened  apprehension  every  home-coming  of  Kenneth, 
and  her  nerves  jumped  at  every  unexpected  noise.  Per- 
haps this  growing  apprehension  was  incited  to  some 
degree  by  a  change  she  noted  in  Kenneth  himself.  On 
the  very  evening  when  Slim  had  carried  her  off  down  to 
the  Pekin,  she  had  noticed  the  beginning  of  a  different 


368  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Kenneth.  He  came  home  late  that  night,  and  was  dis- 
traught, nervous;  once  or  twice  she  caught  his  eyes  on 
her  with  a  narrowed,  fixed  look.  Her  heart  jumped 
wildly:  did  he  suspect?  —  had  some  hint  been  given 
him?  —  or  did  he  already  know?  Again  and  again  in 
the  next  day  or  so  she  caught  him  eyeing  her  with  that 
same  strange,  questioning  look;  always,  when  so  caught, 
he  was  quick  to  start  a  conversation  upon  some  matter 
of  no  consequence. 

One  evening  when  she  surprised  such  a  look  upon  his 
face,  she  determined  to  have  an  end  to  the  suspense. 
She  gripped  what  remained  of  her  old  courage  in  her 
two  hands,  and  squarely  asked  him : 

"What's  the  matter,  Kenneth?" 

"Why?" 

"You  were  looking  at  me  so  queerly." 

He  laughed;  it  was  rather  a  forced  laugh.  "If  I 
looked  queer,  I  guess  it  was  just  the  result  of  uncon- 
sciously carrying  business  in  my  head  after  business 
hours.  Have  you  noticed  the  market  lately?  " 

"No." 

"It's  in  an  awful  mess.  Prices  jumping  in  every  direc- 
tion. Nobody  knows  where  he  stands.  So  if  I  seem  to 
worry,  that's  all  there  is  to  it." 

"Are  you  sure,  Kenneth?" 

"That's  absolutely  all  there  is  to  it,  Jennie.  Honest." 

She  believed  him  because  she  wanted  to  believe  him 
—  though  she  was  not  at  all  certain'  that  she  did  believe 
him.  However,  whatever  of  belief  she  did  have  was 
enough  to  sway  her  fluctuating  soul  to  a  decision  in 
regard  to  Harry  Edwards.  She  could  not  give  up  all 
this  brilliance  she  had  worked  so  hard  to  win!  She 
simply  could  not !  Something  would  turn  up  before  his 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  369 

trial  that  would  save  Harry;  of  course  it  would  —  it 
simply  had  to! 

And  that  same  evening,  disguising  her  handwriting, 
but  using  the  code  which  Uncle  George  would  know, 
she  feverishly  wrote  him  her  decision  —  it  was  final. 
And  the  next  morning  Uncle  George  went  down  to  the 
Pekin  and  showed  it  to  Black  Jerry. 

"  I  'm  glad  that's  the  way  she's  come  to  see  it,"  Jerry 
said  gruffly.  "No  sense  in  her  smashing  everything  just 
because  Harry  Edwards  was  a  fool." 

"I  suppose  so — I  suppose  so,"  Uncle  George  re- 
sponded gravely.  And  from  the  Pekin  he  went  on  down 
to  the  Tombs  and  told  Jennie's  decision  to  Harry. 

Pallid  though  the  long  months  of  prison  had  made 
him,  Harry  bleached  to  a  more  bloodless  hue.  However, 
he  did  not  lose  his  composure. 

"You  know,  Uncle  George,  I  never  asked  you  to  put 
this  up  to  her,"  he  said. 

"I  know  you  didn't,  son.  It  was  my  idea.  I  just 
thought  she  ought  to  know  and  decide  for  herself." 

Harry's  gray  eyes  regarded  Uncle  George  steadily 
through  the  bars.  For  a  moment  there  was  silence 
except  for  those  low,  shuffling  sounds  which  abide  in 
prisons.  Then  Harry  spoke,  his  voice  quiet  and  with 
the  composure  which  is  fitting  last  words: 
.  "Of  course,  that  means  my  finish.  You  and  Jerry 
know  how  I  feel  about  her.  Since  she  does  n't  care  for 
me,  I  don't  blame  her,  and  I  want  her  to  stick  on  up 
where  she  is." 

When  Uncle  George  turned  from  that  erect  figure  on 
the  other  side  of  the  bars,  with  its  white  face  and  steady 
eyes,  he  brushed  something  away  from  his  own  old  eyes. 
Life  was  queer!  —  yes,  life  was  certainly  queer. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

HOW  KENNETH  TOOK  THE  NEWS 

THE  end  of  April  arrived ;  within  a  few  days  they 
were  to  move  out  to  Silver  Bluffs  for  the  sum- 
mer; and  then  there  came  a  morning  when 
Kenneth's  behavior  at  leave-taking  was  unusually  dis- 
turbing.   He  said  good-bye,  started  out  of  the  great 
living-room,  then  turned  at  the  door  and  gazed  at  Jennie 
with  questioning  eyes. 

"Jennie  —  "  he  said  abruptly.   "Jennie  — ' 

Her  heart  leaped  chokingly  into  her  throat,  but  she 
forced  herself  to  speak  calmly.  "Yes,  Kenneth.  What 
is  it?" 

"I  wonder,  Jennie  —  I  wonder — "  and  again  he 
stopped. 

"Go  on.  What  is  it,  Kenneth?" 

"Oh,  nothing,"  he  replied  with  an  abrupt  change  of 
manner.  "Just  take  good  care  of  your  cold;  and  much 
as  Mrs.  Shipman's  friendship  means  to  us,  don't  wear 
yourself  out  at  that  luncheon  of  hers." 

Kenneth  said  good-bye  again,  and  this  time  went  out. 
Jennie  knew  well  that  to  give  her  that  advice  about  her 
cold,  which  was  hardly  a  cold  at  all,  was  not  what  had. 
been  in  Kenneth's  mind.  Something  was  brooding  — 
she  was  more  certain  than  ever  of  this.  The  panic  in 
which  she  had  lived  these  many  days  grew  suddenly 
more  intense.  There  rushed  into  her  a  resistless  need  of 
talking  her  situation  over  with  some  one  —  at  once ; 
mere  words  would  be  a  relief,  even  if  her  way  was  not 
cleared. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  371 

And  then  she  realized  that  of  all  her  many  friends 
of  the  great  world  there  were  none  with  whom  she 
dared  talk  over  such  a  matter  as  this:  certainly  not 
with  Mrs.  Shipman,  and  not  even  with  Sue  and  Mrs. 
Harrison.  Amid  all  the  glory  she  had  won  she  felt  com- 
pletely isolated ;  and  thus  cut  off,  her  mind  went  homing 
back  to  the  person  who  was  most  concerned  in  her  suc- 
cess —  her  father. 

Yes,  she  had  to  see  her  father !  She  considered  when 
and  how  and  where  she  should  meet  him.  There  was 
the  luncheon ,-her  last  affair  of  the  season,  Mrs.  Shipman 
was  giving  to  the  brides  of  the  past  year;  that  would 
last  until  three  at  least.  And  then  at  half-past  three 
Mrs.  Harrison  and  Sue  were  coming  in  to  talk  over 
summer  plans.  She  liked  them  too  well,  and  too  much 
was  builded  upon  them,  for  her  to  cancel  that  engage- 
ment; they  would  stay  until  probably  five.  From  five 
until  half-past  six  —  half-past  six  was  Kenneth's  regu- 
lar time  for  coming  home  —  that  was  the  period  for 
seeing  her  father. 

But  where?  A  daring  inspiration  came  to  her:  why 
not  have  him  visit  her  here?  Wherever  she  saw  him 
there  would  be  the  element  of  risk  always  attending 
their  meetings,  and  that  risk  would  be  hardly  greater 
here  than  elsewhere.  It  could  be  easily  managed.  After 
thinking  a  few  minutes  she  had  Uncle  George  on  the 
wire  and,  talking  to  him  in  code,  arranged  that  Black 
Jerry  was  to  come  at  five  that  afternoon  in  the  guise 
of  a  cabinet-maker,  to  mend  a  refractory  drawer  of  a 
writing-desk  in  her  private  sitting-room. 

Mrs.  Shipman's  "brides'  luncheon"  was  a  very  splen- 
did affair ;  it  had  the  distinction  which  characterized  all 
of  Mrs.  Shipman's  functions.  And  Jennie,  despite  her 


372  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

long  mental  strain,  was  at  her  best ;  perhaps  the  feverish 
tensity  under  which  she  had  been  living  was  respon- 
sible for  her  high  spirits  that  afternoon. 

At  the  end  of  the  affair  Mrs.  Shipman  whispered  in 
the  half-humorous,  yet  serious  tone  which  was  charac- 
teristic of  that  lady  when  she  was  with  those  whom  she 
liked: 

"My  dear,  I  envy  you.  Of  all  the  younger  gen- 
eration of  women  you  are  the  one  born  to  do  things. 
I  hope  I  shall  be  alive  a  few  years  from  now,  a  nice, 
retired  old  lady,  to  watch  you  managing  affairs." 

"Oh,  Mrs.  Shipman,"  exclaimed  Jennie,  "you  can't 
really  mean  that!" 

"But  I  do,  my  dear,"  and  there  was  undeniable 
conviction  in  Mrs.  Shipman's  voice.  "You  are  going 
to  do  great  things.  Good-bye  —  until  we  meet  in  the 
country." 

As  Jennie  went  away  dazed  by  this  approval  a  foot- 
man handed  her  a  box.  This  she  opened  in  her  car.  It 
contained  a  few  deep-red  roses  —  in  money  value  they 
meant  almost  nothing  —  and  an  unsealed  envelope. 
From  the  last  she  drew  a  sheet  of  paper  on  which  was 
written  these  few  lines: 

Let  me  say  good-bye,  too.  You  have  done  all  I  thought 
you  might  possibly  do.  You  have  proved  that  you  are  the 
sort  of  wife  I  talked  about  that  night  —  the  wife  who  can 
make  her  husband  a  great  man.  You  are  doing  that  to  your 
husband.  I  congratulate  you,  and  I  am  glad  that  it  is  my 
privilege  to  be 

Your  friend 

DANIEL  SHIPMAN 

Mrs.  Shipman's  parting  words,  this  note  from  Mr. 
Shipman,  so  thrilled  Jennie  that  for  the  time  she  forgot 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  373 

other  matters.  Never  did  this  world  seem  so  desirable, 
never  did  her  pathway  seem  to  be  leading  forward  to 
such  a  glorious  and  widening  future.  There  would  have 
to  be  maneuverings,  jugglings,  struggles  —  but  she 
would  hold  on  to  it! 

Afterwards,  when  she  was  at  home  with  Mrs.  Harri- 
son and  Sue,  it  seemed  that  their  whole-hearted  affection 
for  her  would  not  permit  them  to  leave.  Jennie  furtively 
glanced  at  her  watch.  The  hands  crept  around  toward 
five;  her  uneasiness  grew,  but  she  could  hardly  send 
them  away;  and  they  wrere  still  there  when  the  butler 
announced  the  arrival  of  the  cabinet-maker. 

She  hesitated;  then  said  with  forced  calm:  "Send 
him  in,  Martin.  I  '11  show  him  what  the  work  is." 

A  moment  later  Black  Jerry  was  ushered  in  by  the 
English  butler.  Black  Jerry's  dress  was  the  usual  one 
of  artisans  —  he  wore  the  common  celluloid  collar  with 
a  buttoned-on  bow  tie;  and  he  held  the  usual  scuffed 
leather  bag  in  which  skilled  workmen  carry  their  tools. 
His  dark  face  was  impassive. 

"This  way,  please,"  Jennie  ordered.  Black  Jerry, 
sidling  along  the  great  Italianesque  fireplace,  crossed 
the  big  living-room  to  the  door  which  Jennie  opened. 
"It's  the  lower  left  drawer  to  that  desk  which  you  are 
to  fix,"  she  continued  in  her  even  voice;  and  closing  the 
door  she  returned  to  her  guests. 

"Did  you  really  notice  him,  Jennie?"  whispered  Sue. 
"What  a  grim,  shuddery-looking  man!" 

"Just  so  he  does  the  work,  I  don't  care  what  he  looks 
like,"  Jennie  returned  carelessly. 

Fifteen  minutes  later  her  visitors  finally  did  depart, 
and  Jennie  slipped  into  the  sitting-room.  Her  father 
rose  from  the  chair  in  which  he  had  been  waiting. 


374  ^  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"  Dad ! "  she  breathed.   "  Dad ! " 

"Jennie,"  he  gulped;  and  then:  "There's  no  danger 
of  your  husband  coming  in  on  us?"  he  asked. 

"No.  Kenneth  never  comes  home  before  half-pas* 
six." 

Black  Jerry  glanced  about  the  sitting-room.  "  I  never 
saw  your  home  before.  You  Ve  sure  got  a  swell  place, 
Jennie"  —  exultingly — "the  swellest  home  I've  ever 
been  in!" 

Then  his  tone  changed.  "Well,  I'm  here,  Jennie. 
What's  the  trouble?" 

The  elation  which  had  sustained  her  during  and  after 
Mrs.  Shipman's  luncheon,  had  now  left  her.  "Every- 
thing, perhaps  —  nothing,  perhaps.  I  felt  I  just  had  to 
see  you.  I  don't  know  what's  the  matter,  dad  —  I  was 
never  nervous  like  this  before." 

"It's  not  about  Harry  Edwards?" 

"No,  dad." 

"That's  right.  What  you  decided  was  O.K.  —  it 
made  me  glad.  If  Harry  Edwards  wanted  to  make  a 
fool  out  of  himself  and  throw  away  his  chance,  that 's 
his  business.  It  ain't  your  business  to  throw  away  your 
chance." 

"  Dad  —  this  is  n't  what  I  asked  you  here  for  —  but 
is  there  anything  new  in  Harry's  case?" 

"It  still  stands  just  like  Uncle  George  said.  It's  all 
his  own  fault,  though.  But  if  it  ain't  because  of  Harry 
Edwards  that  you  sent  for  me,  then  what  is  it?" 

"I'm  just  plain  nervous,  dad.  I  —  I  seem  to  have 
gone  to  pieces.  I  simply  had  to  talk  to  some  one!"  It 
had  always  been  difficult  for  these  two  to  be  outspoken 
in  their  feeling,  but  the  strain  of  her  situation  compelled 
an  unhesitating  directness.  "From  what  you've  done 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  375 

for  me,  dad,  I  know  I  mean  more  to  you  than  any  one 
else  —  and  you  're  the  closest  person  to  me  in  the  world. 
Since  I  had  to  talk  with  some  one,  I  simply  had  to  talk 
with  you.  It's  —  it's  about  Kenneth,  dad." 

"  Kenneth?  "  His  voice,  though  a  whisper,  was  a  men- 
acing growl.  "What's  he  been  doing?" 

"Nothing.  Only  for  some  time  he's  been  acting  — 
well  —  very  queer." 

"In  what  way?" 

"All  I  know  is  the  way  he  has  looked  at  me  when 
he  thought  I  was  n't  looking.  His  face  was  strained ; 
his  eyes  were  penetrating,  questioning.  I  Ve  thought 
that  he  half  suspected  —  perhaps  actually  knew." 

"Jennie  —  you're  not  really  serious?" 

" I'm  serious  in  the  way  I  feel  —  though  I  can't  tell 
what  he  suspects  or  knows.  But  that  has  always  been 
the  danger,  that  he  might  sometime  find  out." 

"And  if  he  did  find  out,"  demanded  Jerry,  "what 
would  he  do?" 

"He's  very  proud,  dad,  and  very  ambitious.  I'm 
sure  it  would  be  the  end  of  things  between  us.  He'd 
throw  me  out.  I  can't  tell  you  how  sick  I  am  thinking 
of  that.  And  if  he  does,  what  am  I  ever  to  do?" 

"  If  he  does,"  —  Jerry's  big  chest  heaved  and  he  ven- 
tured to  take  her  hand,  —  "if  he  does,  I  '11  still  be  back- 
ing you !  But  the  chances  are  you  're  all  wrong.  You  're 
going  to  stick  right  to  the  job,  and  keep  on  playing  the 
game  to  the  finish!" 

"Of  course  I  am,  dad!" 

"That's  right.  And  this  nervousness  of  yours  will 
wear  off,  you  see!" 

He  spoke  on  reassuringly,  his  dark,  hungry  eyes  on 
her  face,  still  holding  the  hand  he  had  dared  take.  His 


316  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

gruff,  definite  words  were  deeply  comforting  to  her ;  for 
a  few  moments  her  spirit  rested  against  the  rugged 
strength  of  his;  such  support  and  comfort  were  what  she 
had  hungered  for  in  the  mood  which  had  possessed  her 
these  many  days.  In  these  moments  there  was  a  strong 
refluence  of  her  courage  and  confidence;  once  more  she 
began  to  feel  her  accustomed  strength  to  meet  and 
handle  any  situation. 

And  then  she  heard  a  noise  at  the  door,  which  was 
behind  her,  but  which  her  father  faced.  She  turned 
quickly;  and  as  she  turned  she  felt  something  wrenched 
from  her  wrist.  Halted  in  the  doorway  was  Kenneth. 

For  that  instant  Jennie  was  aghast  as  never  before. 
She  seemed  to  swirl  downward  —  dizzily  downward. 

The  hush  was  sickeningly  long  to  Jennie  as  she  gazed 
at  the  staring  Kenneth,  but  in  reality  it  lasted  for  only 
the  briefest  instant.  Black  Jerry  broke  the  silence. 

"Well,  you  think  you've  got  me,  don't  you?"  he 
snarled  defiantly  at  Kenneth.  He  reached  for  his  hip 
pocket,  but  his  hand  came  back  empty.  "Hell  —  I  for- 
got my  gat!  I  suppose  you  really  have  got  me,  then. 
This  is  all  I've  pinched  so  far."  He  tossed  upon  the 
table  the  jeweled  watch  he  had  just  torn  from  Jennie's 
wrist.  "Well,"  he  demanded,  "what 're  you  going  to  do 
with  me?" 

While  he  spoke,  lost  though  she  was,  Jennie  grasped 
her  father's  swiftly  conceived  purpose.  To  save  her  he 
was  trying  to  explain  his  presence  here  by  passing  him- 
self off  as  a  burglar.  His  reaching  for  a  pistol  she  recog- 
nized as  merely  a  bit  of  stage-play  to  add  color  and 
plausibility  to  his  impersonation;  she  knew  her  father 
always  went  unarmed. 

"How  did  he  get  in  here,  Jennie?"  asked  Kenneth. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  377 

"As  a  cabinet-maker,  to  fix  my  desk,"  Jennie  ex- 
plained, falling  in  with  her  father's  ruse,  though  still 
in  a  daze.  Her  father,  passing  himself  off  as  a  thief  to 
save  her  in  this  desperate  crisis!  —  she  could  not  let  him 
suffer  for  it.  Her  love  for  him  rushed  to  the  rescue  — 
as  far  as  it  dared.  "But  that  watch  is  really  all  he  got 
thus  far.  I  wish  you  would  n't  send  him  to  jail,  Ken- 
neth, if  you  can  feel  that  you  don't  have  to." 

"Why  not?"  asked  Kenneth. 

She  had  been  in  tight  situations  before,  but  none 
quite  so  tight  as  this.  She  \vas  taut  with  suspense,  but 
she  managed  to  speak  with  no  more  than  the  quick 
breathing  and  the  nervousness  natural  to  one  who  has 
just  been  the  victim  of  a  burglarious  assault. 

"If  he  were  arrested,"  she  replied,  " there 'd  be  a 
police-court  trial  —  and  I  'd  have  to  be  in  it  —  and, 
Kenneth,  I  'd  rather  not  be  mixed  up  in  a  messy  police- 
court  affair.  I  'm  sure  if  you  gave  him  a  sharp  talking 
to  and  then  let  him  go,  it  would  be  better  for  us." 

"What  have  you  got  to  say?"  Kenneth  asked  Black 
Jerry. 

"What's  the  use  of  my  saying  anything?"  Jerry 
responded  gruffly.  "What  you  say  is  all  that  counts." 

"I  yield  to  my  wife's  request,"  said  Kenneth.  "I'll 
let  you  off." 

Jennie's  relief  was  as  vast  and  sudden  as  had  been  her 
suspense.  They  were  safe!  They  had  saved  the  situa- 
tion! 

And  then  — 

And  then  Kenneth  closed  the  door,  and  stepped  into 
the  room.  He  faced  Black  Jerry : 

"Your  voice  seemed  familiar.  But  I  did  n't  place  it 
at  first." 


378  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"My  voice?"  queried  Jerry. 

"I  place  it  now,"  said  Kenneth.  "Remember  that 
night  out  at  Silver  Bluffs  when  you  played  with  my 
windpipe?  You  said  you  were  Jennie's  cousin." 

"Don't  remember  anything  about  any  such  time. 
But  I  'm  not  her  cousin." 

The  strange,  drawn  look  Jennie  had  worried  over  in 
Kenneth's  face  was  now  no  longer  there;  his  face  was 
working.  His  next  words  came  out  as  a  sharp  explosion. 

"I  know  you're  not!  You're  her  father!" 

"I'm  not!"  Jerry  cried  huskily. 

"My  father!"  breathed  Jennie. 

Kenneth  turned  upon  Jennie.  And  then  the  possible 
danger  that  had  been  hidden  in  the  heart  of  all  these 
years  —  the  fear  that  had  eaten  her  soul  all  these  weeks 
and  days  —  suddenly  burst  into  all  the  terrors  of  actual- 
ity. The  heavens  opened,  and  all  they  sustained  and 
contained,  crashed  down  upon  her. 

"Yes,  your  father —  Black  Jerry  Malone!"  Kenneth 
said  rapidly,  his  words  fairly  snapping  into  her  very 
face  with  feverish  distinctness.  "And  you're  Jennie 
Malone  —  you  were  never  anybody  else !  And  I  know 
you  used  to  be  clever  at  forging  —  and  I  know  about 
your  trial  —  and  that  you  ran  away  to  escape  sentence 
for  forgery!" 

Jennie  swayed  and  would  have  fallen  had  not  a 
blindly  outstretched  hand  gripped  the  back  of  a  chair. 
She  stared  with  wide  eyes  at  Kenneth.  So  —  the  very 
end  had  come !  The  end  to  all  her  years  of  striving  —  to 
her  dreams  and  her  father's  dreams  —  and  she  was 
falling  dizzily  down  —  down  —  down  —  from  her  bril- 
liant pinnacle!  All,  all  was  over! 

She  did  not  speak.    Dazedly,  limply,  she  waited  for 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  379 

the  furious  denunciation  which  she  had  known  would 
be  her  portion  if  ever  this  moment  came. 

But  there  came  no  tongue-lashing  —  there  fell  no 
furious  blow.  Jennie  caught  her  breath.  Bewildered, 
she  gazed  at  Kenneth ;  he  gazed  back  at  her,  panting  a 
bit,  his  eyes  agleam  with  a  new  excitement  of  which  she 
now  for  the  first  time  became  aware. 

For  a  moment  there  was  complete  silence.  Then  Black 
Jerry  pushed  squarely  up  in  front  of  Kenneth. 

"If  you  try  anything  on  my  Jennie,"  he  growled, 
"I'll  twist  that  neck  of  yours  the  same  as  I  said  I 
would!" 

"Father,  don't!"  breathed  Jennie.  "What's  the 
use?"  And  then  to  Kenneth:  "Yes,  I've  known  fora 
long  time  that  you  either  knew  or  else  suspected." 

"But  I  have  not!"  he  exclaimed. 

"No?"  she  cried  incredulously.  "But  the  strange 
way  you  looked  at  me  these  weeks  —  " 

"Ask  your  father  to  go,  Jennie,"  Kenneth  inter- 
rupted. "There's  a  lot  I  want  to  say  to  you." 

"Since  you  know  who  Jennie  is,  and  all  that's  all  over, 
I  stick  right  here  so  long  as  she  needs  me,"  Black  Jerry 
replied. 

"All  right,  then,"  said  Kenneth  in  a  hurried,  eager 
tone,  turning  away  from  Black  Jerry.  "Jennie,  I  never 
dreamed  that  you  were  anything  except  what  I'd  al- 
ways supposed  —  not  until  to-day." 

"No!   But  —  but  the  strange  looks  I  saw  — 

"Listen,  Jennie!"  He  spoke  with  a  rapidity  and  a 
feverish  agitation  she  had  never  in  all  her  acquaintance 
with  him  known  the  self-controlled  Kenneth  to  show. 
"If  you  saw  a  strange  look,  it  was  because  I  was  won- 
dering what  you'd  do  when  you  learned  the  truth!" 


38o  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"What  I'd  do!11  she  exclaimed. 

"Jennie,  I've  been  living  in  hell!"  he  went  on  rap- 
idly, heedless  of  Black  Jerry  —  and  what  was  now 
amazing  her  most  was  a  pleading  tone  that  had  come 
into  his  voice.  "You  know  a  little  about  my  fooling 
with  war  stocks,  but  you  have  no  idea  how  deep  I  've 
gone  into  them.  I  've  put  in  everything  I  had  —  and 
more!  It  was  the  chance  of  a  lifetime  to  make  a  big 
killing  —  to  come  out  of  it  established  forever  as  one 
of  the  big  men  who  count.  I  wrent  into  it  on  margins, 
Jennie  —  and  once  started  I  had  to  keep  on  or  I  'd  have 
been  wiped  out.  Besides,  I'm  sure  to  clean  up  big  in 
the  end.  Sure!  So  when  my  money  was  all  gone —  I 
began  to  use  Shipman's  money  to  cover  my  margins. 
But  the  market  did  n't  rise,  and  I  was  every  day  afraid 
that  I  'd  be  found  out  —  that 's  why  I  looked  that  way 
at  you." 

"Oh!"  Jennie  breathed  faintly. 

"And  to-day  I  got  a  tip  that  the  bank  examiners 
would  probably  be  around  to-morrow,"  he  went  on  with 
mounting  excitement.  "  I  'm  up  against  it,  Jennie!  I  Ve 
got  to  make  good  by  to-morrow  what  I  Ve  used  —  or 
—  or  —  you  understand!  You're  the  only  person  who 
can  save  me!" 

"I?"  she  cried  in  amazement. 

"Yes,  only  you,  Jennie!  The  idea  came  to  me  this 
afternoon  after  I  had  learned  who  you  really  were." 
He  drew  several  slips  of  paper  from  an  inner  pocket,  and 
his  words  tumbled  on.  "These  are  Harrison  and  Com- 
pany checks  —  the  extra  ones  for  use  in  case  any  are 
spoiled.  We're  holding  a  lot  of  money  in  our  bank  that 
we  won't  have  to  use  for  a  month  or  two.  I  Ve  made  out 
one  of  these  checks  for  fifty  thousand  and  signed  it  as 


A  Daughter  of  Two  World*  381 

treasurer  —  you  know,  I  'm  still  treasurer  there  —  but 
it 's  got  to  be  countersigned  by  my  father  as  president. 
If  that  check  has  my  father's  signature,  I  can  get  the 
money  to  straighten  out  my  accounts  in  the  morning 
over  at  Shipman's.  And  then  I  '11  make  my  clean-up  — 
the  market  is  absolutely  sure  to  turn  right  in  a  few  days 
or  a  week  or  two !  —  and  then  I  '11  deposit  the  fifty 
thousand  back  into  the  account  of  Harrison  and  Com- 
pany before  it 's  missed  and  everything  will  be  all  right ! 
Al]  I  ask  of  you,  Jennie,  is  just  to  sign  my  father's  name. 
Here's  a  sample  of  his  signature.  It  looks  hard  —  I 
could  n't  do  it  —  but  for  you  it  will  be  easy!  Jennie, 
you'll  do  it  for  me,  won't  you?" 

Tense,  eyes  agleam  with  suspense,  he  awaited  her 
answer. 

"Kenneth!"  she  breathed,  staring.  She  was  utterly 
dumbfounded  by  this  turn  of  events.  She  had  feared  so 
long  this  day  and  its  denunciation.  And  now,  exposure 
had  come  —  and  instead  of  denunciation,  of  being  cast 
into  outer  darkness,  here  was  Kenneth  pleading  that 
she  should  forge  for  his  sake!  The  contrast  was  too 
astounding;  for  the  moment  her  brain  could  not 
function. 

"  Don't  you  see,  Jennie,"  he  argued  feverishly  —  "all 
that  it  amounts  to  is  that  I  have  borrowed  from  Ship- 
man,  and  that  I  '11  just  be  borrowing  from  my  own  firm 
to  pay  Shipman,  and  that  in  a  short  time  I  can  square 
things  with  my  own  firm.  That's  all  there  is  to  it  — 
just  borrowing ! "  He  pushed  her,  unresisting,  down  into 
the  chair  at  her  writing-table,  and  laid  the  checks  before 
her.  "And  here  —  I  brought  along  one  of  the  pens  my 
father  always  uses.  And  here's  some  blank  paper;  just 
practice  his  signature  a  few  times." 


382  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Black  Jerry,  who  had  remained  silent  and  aside  dur- 
ing all  this,  now  stepped  forward. 

"Hold  on,  Jennie,"  he  ordered.  He  fixed  his  dark 
eyes  on  Kenneth.  "You,  young  man,  you  ain't  said  yet 
what  you  're  going  to  do  about  Jennie.  Before  Jennie 
goes  ahead,  we  want  a  few  words  from  you  on  that  point. 
I  ain't  just  got  your  number  yet.  Are  you  going  to  tell 
what  you  learned  about  her  and  throw  Jennie  down? 
Or  are  you  going  to  keep  still  and  stand  by  her?" 

"Stand  by  her,  of  course!"  cried  Kenneth.  "To  ex- 
pose her  and  start  talk  —  I  guess  you  can  see  that 
would  n't  help  me  a  lot.  Hurry  up,  Jennie!" 

"Hold  on,"  Black  Jerry  repeated,  his  dark  eyes  still 
on  Kenneth.  He  considered  an  instant.  In  Black  Jerry's 
mind,  true  product  of  his  world,  there  was  little  concern 
over  those  details  of  human  conduct  which  laws  denom- 
inate as  crimes  —  though  Jerry,  as  conduct  went  among 
his  fellows,  had  really  been  a  very  law-abiding  citizen. 
A  more  important  consideration  than  law,  according  to 
Jerry's  code,  was  doing  what  was  right  and  square  by 
one's  friends. 

"You'd  better  understand  what's  behind  this  busi- 
ness," he  said  with  his  grim,  ferocious  pride.  "I  felt 
my  Jennie  had  a  right  to  as  big  a  chance  as  any  other 
girl.  So  I  fixed  things  to  give  her  that  chance.  And  she's 
made  good  all  right;  woman  to  woman,  there's  no 
woman  in  her  class.  She  deserves  to  be  up  where  she  is. 
So  if  you  don't  stand  by  her,  I  '11  get  you  —  don't  you 
forget  that!  Go  ahead,  Jennie." 

Jennie's  chief  sense  was  that  of  escape  when  escape 
had  seemed  impossible.  Her  relief  was  too  vast  for  her 
to  have  thought  of  what  she  had  been  asked  to  do  or 
<?f  its  consequences.  She  took  the  pen  from  Kenneth 


A  Daugh  ter  of  Two  Worlds  383 

and  mechanically  began  to  copy  the  signature  of  the 
elder  Harrison  upon  the  practice  sheet.  Kenneth 
watched  her,  wiping  his  face,  in  his  manner  the  nerv- 
ous relief  of  one  who  has  won  salvation;  Jerry  eyed, 
now  Kenneth,  now  her.  The  room  was  still  save  for  the 
breathing  of  the  three.  Jennie's  hand  grew  more  steady ; 
the  natural  skill  which  had  been  hers  when  long  ago 
she  had  forged  that  Morrison  check,  and  which  had  been 
hers  more  recently  when  she  had  successfully  imitated 
Gloria's  handwriting,  now  returned  to  her.  When  Ken- 
neth placed  before  her  the  check  already  filled  out  and 
signed  by  him,  she  wrote  "James  Harrison"  as  well  as 
Kenneth's  father  could  have  done  it  himself. 

"There!"  she  breathed,  pushing  the  check  toward 
Kenneth. 

He  seized  it.  "Thank  God!"  he  cried.  "Jennie  — 
you'll  never  know  wThat  you've  done  for  me!" 

"You  'd  better  remember,  and  keep  on  remembering ! " 
put  in  Black  Jerry,  his  dark,  lowering  face  clenched 
with  menace.  "And  also  you'd  better  remember  to 
treat  my  Jennie  square  —  or  you'll  get  what's  coming 
to  you."  Abruptly  he  picked  up  his  cabinet-maker's 
bag.  "So-long,"  he  said,  and  walked  out  of  the  room. 

Jennie  had  swayed  to  her  feet,  unconsciously  holding 
on  to  the  pen.  Kenneth  caught  her  other  hand. 

"You'll  never  know  what  you've  done  for  me,  Jen- 
nie!" he  repeated  excitedly  —  this  strange  new  Ken- 
neth. "You've  saved  me!  And  everything's  coming 
out  all  right  —  there  '11  be  no  trouble  —  and  I  '11  clean 
up  a  fortune  —  and  we  '11  keep  on  going  up  and  up !  And 
it'll  all  be  your  doing,  Jennie —  all  your  doing!" 

"You  —  really  —  think  so?"  Her  words  were  me- 
chanical. 


384  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"  You've  done  it  all  —  you  Ve  saved  everything!  .  .  . 
But — but  —  Jennie,  don't  think  I  don't  appreciate  it  if 
I  run  away  and  leave  you.  I  promised  to  see  my  broker 
this  evening  before  dinner,  and  I've  simply  got  to  go." 

The  next  moment  she  was  alone.  She  sank  weakly 
into  a  chair,  still  holding  the  pen,  almost  in  a  state  of 
collapse.  She  had  escaped!  She  was  safe!  The  future 
was  still  her  own ! 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

WHEN  WORLDS  COLLIDE 

OUT  at  Silver  Bluffs  — she  and  Kenneth  had 
gone  there  two  days  later  —  there  followed  a 
breathing  space  for  Jennie,  in  which  she  strove 
to  readjust  herself  to  the  new  conditions,  to  the  new 
possibilities,  of  her  life.  Kenneth  knew  —  and  she  was 
still  not  cast  out :  the  danger  was  over !  Even  after  days 
this  hardly  seemed  a  reality. 

She  thought  very  little  of  her  act  of  signing  "James 
Harrison"  to  that  check.  Even  if  she  had,  enough  of 
the  cynical  attitude  of  her  girlhood  lingered  in  her  to 
have  caused  her  conscience  to  consider  it  as  a  deed  that 
was  not  particularly  wrong.  But  as  matters  stood,  in 
the  emotional  tumult  in  which  she  was  hourly  living, 
that  act  was  an  almost  forgotten  detail  of  a  scene  whose 
all-important  fact  was  that  Kenneth  had  not  cast  her 
from  her  lofty  height. 

But  there  were  two  matters  about  which  she  did  think 
and  wonder  —  at  least  a  little.  One  of  these  was  Ken- 
neth himself:  of  the  strangely  different  figure  from  the 
insouciantly  competent  Kenneth  which  he  had  in  a 
flash  revealed  himself  to  be :  of  his  feverish  eagerness  in 
asking  her  to  forge  to  save  him  —  of  his  financial  en- 
tanglements. Somehow,  though  still  Kenneth,  he  was 
not  quite  the  wonderful  Kenneth  he  had  seemed  to  her 
school-girl  eyes  —  not  quite  the  same  Kenneth  he  had 
seemed  that  summer's  afternoon  when,  out  on  the 
landing  here  at  Silver  Bluffs,  his  proposal  had  burst 
upon  her  as  a  sudden  and  up-sweeping  glory.  She  had 


386  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

flitting  moments  of  uneasiness.  More  than  once  there 
returned  to  her  snatches  of  Slim  Jackson's  phrases.  .  .  . 
"No  difficulty  about  getting  divorce  .  .  .  plenty  of  evi- 
dence ...  I  myself  can  slip  it  right  into  your  hand." 

She  did  not  believe  what  had  been  said  and  implied 
by  Slim;  for  she  knew  Slim  would  stop  at  no  lie  that 
would  serve  him.  But  in  flashes  she  was  ever  wondering 
about  Kenneth  .  .  .  wondering  very  much. 

And  the  second  matter  to  which  she  gave  real  thought 
was,  who  had  told  Kenneth  her  secret?  She  surmised 
that  it  had  been  Slim  Jackson.  One  evening  at  Silver 
Bluffs  she  put  the  question  to  Kenneth  point-blank. 

"I  can't  say  who  told  me,"  he  answered.  "There 
were  circumstances  —  well,  I  promised  not  to  tell." 

"Was  it  Jackson  Holt?"  she  demanded. 

"  It  was  not  Jackson  Holt;  that  much  I  can  definitely 
answer  you,"  he  replied.  "Jackson  Holt  has  never  let 
fall  a  single  word  that  would  make  me  suspect  that  you 
were  anybody  except  just  exactly  who  I  thought  you 
were.  But  don't  worry  your  head  about  that,  Jennie. 
It 's  all  the  same  to  me,  and  you  ought  to  be  able  to  see 
that  I  '11  do  everything  I  can  to  keep  the  matter  secret 
—  that  I  don't  want  it  to  become  public  any  more  than 
you  do." 

She  believed  what  he  said  about  Slim  Jackson.  But 
if  Slim  had  not  told,  then  who  was  the  person? 

Aside  from  the  effects  of  her  shock,  and  aside  from 
her  secret  thoughts,  that  May  was  a  wonderful  May  to 
Jennie.  Mrs.  Shipman  had  a  summer  place  not  far  from 
Silver  Bluffs,  and  she,  and  those  of  the  summer  colony 
who  circled  about  that  great  lady,  had  never  been  more 
cordial.  And  so  it  came  about  that  Jennie's  old-time 
confidence,  so  disturbed  with  fear  for  many  weeks,  re- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  387 

turned  to  her  —  and  returned  to  her  stronger  than  ever. 
She  now  had  no  secrets  from  Kenneth.  She  had  passed 
the  crisis  —  she  was  indeed  going  up,  up,  solidly  up  — 
no  doubt  of  it ! 

Early  in  June  she  went  into  the  city  one  afternoon 
with  Mrs.  Shipman  to  attend  a  meeting  of  women,  some 
of  whom  lived  up  in  Westchester  County,  to  discuss  a 
proposed  open-air  carnival  and  pageant  to  be  given  for 
Allied  war  relief  upon  the  grounds  of  whatever  summer 
home  seemed  most  suitable.  This  conference  ended, 
Jennie  went  to  her  empty  apartment  to  wait  for  Ken- 
neth, who  was  to  meet  her  there  and  take  her  out  to 
dinner. 

She  had  an  hour  or  more  to  herself  —  something 
which  she  had  not  really  had  for  many,  many  weeks. 
The  silence  of  the  apartment,  the  covered  furniture, 
infected  her  with  loneliness.  Sitting  at  a  window  giving 
upon  the  broad  Avenue,  her  relaxed  mind  began  to 
wander  —  then  it  drifted  back  and  considered  the  long, 
long  way  she  had  traveled,  the  heights  she  had  so  pa- 
tiently and  daringly  and  brilliantly  climbed  —  then  it 
dwelt  upon  those  who  had  been  so  close  to  her,  in  her 
other  world. 

Obeying  an  impulse  —  there  was  nothing  to  stay  her, 
since  she  was  alone  —  she  called  up  Uncle  George.  He 
was  at  home. 

"How's  dad?"  she  asked. 

''Jerry?  Jerry's  the  same  as  ever.  Going  great,"  was 
the  old  man's  hearty  response. 

"And  —  and  Harry?" 

"Same  as  ever.   Not  batting  an  eyelash." 

They  talked  of  other  matters  —  briefly ;  then  she 
hung  up.  Yes,  the  old  life  was  somehow  far,  far  away. 


388  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

And  yet  she  felt  it  was  somehow  very  near  to  her  —  and 
some  elements  very,  very  dear  .  .  . 

She  had  changed  into  an  evening  gown  and  was  ab- 
sently examining  her  slender,  rounded  lines  in  one  of 
the  two  tall  mirrors  which,  set  into  the  wall,  flanked 
either  side  of  the  great  fireplace  of  the  living-room, 
when  Kenneth  entered. 

"I  say,  Jennie,  you're  looking  stunning!"  he  called 
at  sight  of  her.  "You'll  show  'em  all  up  as  second- 
raters  at  that  little  dinner  to-night!" 

Jennie  was  fully  aware  how  well  she  looked.  "It's 
half-past  six,  Kenneth;  you'd  better  get  dressed,"  was 
her  only  response. 

"All  right.  Only  I 'm  hot  and  fagged  —  I  Ve  got  to 
have  a  high-ball  before  I  can  lift  my  hand  to  tie  a  neck- 
tie." In  the  doorway  which  led  back  to  the  kitchen  and 
the  pantry  he  paused.  "  By  the  way,  just  as  I  was  leaving 
father  called  up  and  said  he  had  to  see  me  at  once,  so  I 
told  him  to  show  up  here  before  seven." 

"What  does  he  want?" 

"  He  did  n't  say  —  except  that  it  was  important.  He  '11 
be  along  almost  any  minute." 

Kenneth  passed  out  and  went  about  the  business  of 
mixing  his  drink.  Presently  the  apartment  bell  rang, 
and  Jennie  admitted  her  father-in-law.  He  kissed  her, 
but  she  sensed  instantly  that  it  was  a  mechanical  kiss. 

"Where's  Kenneth?"  he  asked. 

"He'll  be  right  out,"  she  answered. 

By  this  time  they  were  in  the  big  living-room  where 
the  light  was  better.  She  gave  a  quick  look  at  her 
father-in-law's  face.  That  set,  square,  masklike,  rather 
heavy  face,  which  from  the  time  she  had  first  seen  him 
had  struck  her  as  being  a  sort  of  composite  face  of  all 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  389 

the  pictures  she  had  seen  in  the  magazines  of  the  men 
who  direct  large  affairs,  was  now  plainly  controlling 
some  feeling  or  purpose  only  by  a  very  great  effort. 

"It's  very  warm  —  can't  I  get  you  something  to 
drink?"  she  asked. 

"Don't  want  anything  to  drink!  "  he  snapped  at  her. 
And  then:  "I  beg  pardon,  Jennie —  I  did  n't  mean  to 
be  rough.  It's  just  that  something's  on  my  mind." 

He  kissed  her  again,  and  this  time  his  kiss  was  not 
perfunctory.  Though  he  had  disapproved  of  Kenneth's 
marriage,  he  had  since  admitted,  at  least  to  his  very 
private  self,  that  his  wife  had  been  right,  that  Jennie 
had,  indeed,  been  just  the  wife  for  Kenneth.  He  had 
observed;  and  the  way  Jennie  had  carried  Kenneth  up 
had  wrought  this  complete  reversal  in  his  attitude. 

Kenneth  came  in  carrying  a  tall,  cool-looking  glass. 
"Hello,  father.  Can  I  mix  one  for  you?" 

"Have  n't  time  for  a  drink." 

"All  right.  Excuse  me  while  I  say  a  few  kind  words 
to  my  stomach." 

He  had  the  glass  at  his  lips  and  was  tilting  down  its 
contents  when  the  elder  Harrison  exploded.  He  jerked 
a  paper  from  out  his  inside  coat  pocket  and  flung  it  upon 
the  great  carved  table. 

" Look  at  that,  damn  you ! "  he  cried.  "Look  at  that, 
and  then  let's  hear  what's  your  explanation!" 

Kenneth's  glass  slipped  away  from  his  lips  so  abruptly 
that  some  of  the  icy  mixture  splashed  down  upon  his 
collar.  "Hello,  what's  wrong?" 

The  elder  Harrison  held  a  blunt  forefinger  on  the 
paper  and  glared  at  his  son.  "Look  at  that! "  he  almost 
shouted. 

Kenneth  looked  at  what  had  been  flung  so  furiously 


390  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

upon  the  table.  His  handsome  face  suddenly  went  white. 
With  an  effort  he  raised  his  eyes  to  his  father's. 

"Well  —  well  — "  And  there  his  husky  voice  stopped. 

"Well  —  go  on!"  the  older  man  roared. 

But  Kenneth  did  not  go  on;  seemingly  he  was  unable 
to  go  on.  For  the  first  instant  Jennie  was  quite  be- 
wildered by  this  swift  outburst  of  father  upon  son,  by 
the  furious  glare  of  the  one  and  the  pale,  twitching  face 
of  the  other;  but  as  the  moments  passed  and  the  gaze 
of  each  gripped  the  other  in  a  tense  silence,  she  dropped 
her  eyes  to  what  was  beneath  Mr.  Harrison's  forefinger. 
At  first  the  paper  had  no  meaning  to  her.  Then  dimly 
she  began  to  remember  —  then  she  drew  a  sharp  breath. 

The  paper  was  that  check  to  which,  a  few  weeks  since, 
Kenneth  had  asked  her  to  forge  his  father's  signature 
in  order  to  save  him. 

"Go  on  —  speak  out!"  the  older  Harrison  shouted 
at  Kenneth.  And  as  Kenneth  still  did  not  speak,  Mr. 
Harrison  went  on  himself  —  and  his  words  were  molten 
fury.  "You  know  what  it  is!  And  you  know  I  know 
what  it  is!  It  is  a  damnable  forgery!  You  know  I  did  n't 
sign  my  name  to  that!" 

The  older  man's  fury  was  now  almost  beyond  all  con- 
trol. "God  —  you  crook,  you!  Have  n't  you  tried  to 
put  across  enough  slippery  tricks?  Have  n't  I  pulled 
you  out  of  enough  trouble  for  you  to  learn  any  sense? 
And  yet  you  try  still  another  stunt  —  forgery !  I 
did  n't  know  you  could  forge  —  but  I  should  have  known 
that  you  'd  have  your  try  at  every  crooked  stunt  there 
is.  You  —  you  — "  He  ended  with  a  gasping  choke. 

Jennie,  eyes  wide,  stared  at  her  husband.  She  did  not 
consciously  remember  what  Slim  had  said  about  him, 
but  the  substance  of  Slim's  words  must  have  been  re- 


A  Daughter  oj  Two  Worlds  391 

uttering  themselves  in  the  ears  of  her  subconscious  self. 
She  felt  dizzy  —  sick. 

"But  —  but  —  I  don't  know  anything  about  that 
check,"  Kenneth  responded  in  a  thin,  dry  whisper. 

"You  lie!  That  other  signature  is  your  signature  all 
right.  But  I  know  I  never  signed  that  check  —  though 
if  I  had  n't  been  so  certain  I  had  not,  I  might  have  be- 
lieved I  did,  for  that  forgery  is  a  wonder.  It's  no  use 
to  lie  and  try  tc  squirm  out  of  it  —  I  Ve  had  to  cover 
you  up  too  often  to  believe  any  of  your  lies!" 

Kenneth  wet  his  twitching,  white  lips.  ' '  The  amount 
is  n't  really  so  big.  Only  fifty  thousand.  Take  care  of 
it  for  a  little  while,  father  —  and  I  '11  square  it  up.  I 
promise.  I  Ve  got  big  chances !  Square  it  up  and  —  and 
—  keep  it  quiet!" 

"You  don't  get  this  situation  at  all,  you  young  fool!" 
raged  the  father.  "I  might  square  it.  Fifty  thousand 
is  a  lot  of  money,  still  I  could  manage  it.  But  I  can't 
keep  it  quiet.  There's  the  big  point:  I  can't  keep  it 
quiet!" 

"You  can't  keep  it  quiet?  "  exclaimed  Kenneth.  "  You 
can't  keep  it  quiet?  Why?" 

"  I  did  n't  discover  it.  The  audit  company  discovered 
this  morning  there  was  just  fifty  thousand  dollars  dif- 
ference between  our  figures  in  our  balance  and  the  bank's 
figures,  and  they  dug  up  this  check.  And  they  happened 
to  tell  three  other  men  in  the  firm  about  it  before  they 
told  me  —  and  one  of  them  is  Mortimer.  And  Mortimer 
hates  me  worse  than  poison —  he  would  n't  pass  by  this 
chance  to  get  a  knife  into  me  for  a  million  dollars !  Keep 
it  quiet?  The  best  I  could  get  out  of  them  was  the  loan 
of  this  check,  under  a  guarantee,  while  I  had  the  affair 
out  with  you.  Keep  it  quiet?  Young  man,  you've  at 


392  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

last  mixed  yourself  in  something  that  no  human  power 
can  keep  quiet!" 

Kenneth  was  now  supporting  himself  by  leaning 
heavily  on  the  table  and  clenching  its  edges  with  both 
hands.  His  terrified  eyes  were  blinkingly  on  his  father, 
but  he  did  not  speak.  Jennie,  a  little  to  one  side, 
watched  the  two  men,  waiting  in  a  sickened  amazement 
of  soul. 

The  father  burst  out  again  in  a  fury  that  swept  on- 
ward in  a  ferocious  wave  of  passion  —  concentrated 
energy  of  a  lifetime,  unloosed  in  a  moment.  "Keep  it 
quiet!  When  you  say  that,  you  are  thinking  only  of 
what  it  may  mean  to  you.  Well,  it  can't  be  kept  quiet! 
Do  you  know  what  that  means  to  me  ?  Do  you  know 
that  I  lowered  your  mother's  social  position  by  letting 
her  marry  me?  Do  you  know  that  for  thirty  years  and 
more  I  Ve  been  working  day  and  night  to  win  a  place  in 
business  and  out  in  life  that  would  put  me  and  my 
family  on  a  level  with  the  top  people  your  mother  used 
to  mix  with?  God!  how  I  Ve  worked,  and  thought,  and 
waited  to  establish  myself  and  my  family!  And  I've 
won  out  —  or  almost  won  out!  And  now,  just  as  I  Ve 
won  in  a  big  way,  my  son  commits  forgery  —  there  '11 
be  a  big  trial  —  it 's  a  plain  case  —  and  he  '11  go  to  Sing 
Sing.  You  see  now  what  that  means  to  me?  The  idea 
of  my  whole  life  is  smashed."  He  ripped  out  a  terrible 
oath;  Jennie  had  never  heard  her  father,  even  in  his 
most  furious  moment,  swear  with  such  driving,  uncon- 
trolled violence.  "You  slippery,  worthless  hound,  that 
I  Ve  tried  so  hard  to  make  a  man  of  —  I  ought  to  beat 
your  head  in!" 

Still,  Kenneth,  pale,  gripping  the  table,  eyes  on  his 
father,  made  no  response. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  393 

Mr.  Harrison's  fury  raged  on.  "A  few  years  in  Sing 
Sing  might  be  a  good  thing  for  you,  if  that  was  all  there 
was  to  it.  But  think  of  what  it  means  to  my  life-work 
—  think  of  what  it  means  to  my  family !  And  you  Ve 
had  every  chance  in  the  world  that  we  could  give  you. 
And  your  wife  —  she 's  developed  into  a  wonder  for 
you!"  He  turned  upon  Jennie.  "Jennie,  I  guess  you 
know  I  objected  to  you  at  first,  but  I  want  to  apologize. 
What  you've  done  to  put  him  forward  is  a  miracle!  If 
he  'd  had  the  right  stuff  in  him  there 's  no  place  so  high 
that  you  could  n't  have  landed  him  in  it.  But  as  it  is, 
you're  just  one  more  he's  dragged  down,  Jennie!" 

Jennie,  though  she  had  heard,  did  not  reply.  When 
Mr.  Harrison  had  turned  to  her  and  spoken  her  name, 
she  had  seen  Kenneth's  gaze,  which  all  the  while  had 
been  fearfully  upon  his  father,  shift  to  her  face.  He  was 
now  staring  at  her  and  a  curious  look  was  dawning  in 
his  eyes.  Jennie  perceived  this;  she  could  not  antici- 
pate what  this  look  could  mean;  but  a  new  quiver  went 
through  her  weakened  body. 

"Well,  isn't  there  anything  you  can  say  for  your- 
self?" the  frenzied  father  demanded. 

"I  —  I  —  perhaps  —  you  see  —  "  Kenneth's  incoher- 
ent words  were  barely  audible  whispers.  ' '  You  say  —  it 
can't  be  kept  quiet?  —  and  I '11  go  to  Sing  Sing?" 

"I  certainly  said  so!  But  your  going  to  Sing  Sing 
won't  pain  me  much!" 

Kenneth's  strange  gaze  was  still  on  Jennie;  only  now 
there  was  purpose  in  it.  He  ran  his  tongue  between  his 
dry  lips. . 

"Since  the  situation  is  —  is  as  desperate  as  you  say 
it  is,  then,  perhaps,  for  your  sake,  for  mother's  and 
Sue's  sake,  if  not  for  my  own,  I  ought  to  tell  you  some- 


394  ~4  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

thing  I  Ve  known  for  several  weeks.  But  something  I  — 
I  hoped  I  'd  never  have  to  tell." 

"Out  with  it  if  you  have  anything  to  say!"  his  father 
snapped. 

"  It 's  —  it 's  about  Jennie." 

"About  Jennie!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Harrison. 

"About  —  about  me?"  whispered  Jennie. 

Kenneth  had.  now  turned  his  eyes  back  to  his  father. 
"About  Jennie,  yes.  I  only  learned  it  a  few  weeks  ago, 
and  I  never  intended  to  breathe  it  to  a  soul  —  but  — 
but  this  changes  things.  Her  name  never  was  Jennie 
Miller  —  she  never  lived  in  the  West  —  she  never  was 
an  orphan.  Her  name  was  Jennie  Malone  —  her  father 
is  a  well-known  figure  in  the  tough  part  of  downtown 
and  he  was  once  on  trial  for  a  double  murder  —  you  've 
heard  of  him,  he's  Black  Jerry  Malone  —  and  Jennie 
disappeared  from  her  old  life  following  her  arrest  on 
the  charge  of  forgery,  and  she  is  now  a  fugitive  from 
justice.  For  years,  her  whole  life  has  been  just  make- 
believe." 

Mr.  Harrison  had  wheeled  upon  Jennie  during  this 
speech  and  had  noted  the  change  in  her  face.  "My 
God ! "  he  breathed .  ' '  Jennie  —  is  this  true  ? ' ' 

Jennie  had  no  words. 

"If  it  is  true,  Kenneth,"  demanded  the  older  man, 
"how  did  you  find  it  out?" 

"Gloria  Raymond  telephoned  me  one  day  that  she 
wanted  to  see  me  about  an  investment  and  came  down 
to  the  office.  She  really  wanted  to  see  me  about  Jennie. 
She  and  Jennie  have  been  enemies  since  they  first  met, 
and  Gloria  made  it  her  business  to  look  into  Jennie's 
past.  She  did  so,  and  she  told  me  what  I  've  just  told 
you." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  395 

For  all  her  dizziness,  her  sense  of  a  whirling,  crashing 
world,  Jennie  was  sharply  conscious  of  one  thing.  Gloria 
Raymond  had  made  good  on  her  threat! 

"  Is  that  true,  Jennie?"  Mr.  Harrison  demanded  once 
more. 

Whatever  else  she  might  do,  denial  was  futile.  So 
Jennie  slowly  nodded  her  head. 

"My  God!"  Mr.  Harrison  breathed  again. 

"And  about  that  check,"  Kenneth  continued  —  "it 
is  exactly  as  I  said.  I  know  nothing  at  all  about  it.  But 
I  have  a  surmise.  You  know  we  are  careful  of  the 
Harrison  and  Company  blank  checks,  but  quite  by  ac- 
cident a  few  loose  checks  were  among  some  papers  I 
brought  home  several  weeks  ago  for  careful  examina- 
tion and  which  I  kept  here  for  some  days.  Jennie  is 
an  expert  forger;  she  is  now  a  fugitive  from  justice  for 
forgery.  It  is  plain  she  must  have  abstracted  one  of  those 
checks,  forged  your  name,  and  mine  also.  What  she  did 
with  the  money  I  cannot  say;  my  opinion,  though, 
is  that  some  one  may  have  been  blackmailing  her. 
This  is  the  only  possible  explanation  I  can  see  of  the 
affair." 

Jennie's  eyes,  as  she  swayed  against  the  table,  grew 
yet  more  wide  as  Kenneth  made  this  statement.  Almost 
unconsciously  to  herself  during  the  past  weeks  she  had 
been  undergoing  a  disillusionment  in  regard  to  Ken- 
neth; but  now  her  disillusionment  was  conscious  and 
complete.  His  soul  was  revealed  starkly.  The  hand- 
some, popular  Kenneth,  who  had  so  fascinated  her  by 
his  distinguished  exterior,  was  a  coward,  a  sneak,  a 
traitor. 

"It's  a  lie,  Mr.  Harrison,"  whispered  Jennie.  "That 
part  is  a  lie!" 


396  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"You  're  a  damned  dog,  Kenneth ! "  his  father  blurted 
out.  "I  don't  believe  a  word  of  it!" 

"Yes,  it's  a  lie,  Mr.  Harrison,"  Jennie  went  on 
rapidly,  brokenly.  "I  did  forge  your  name  —  that 
much  is  true.  But  Kenneth  told  me  he  was  in  terrible 
trouble  —  that  he  was  about  to  be  found  out  and  dis- 
graced —  he  said  I  alone  could  save  him  —  he  had  to 
have  money  —  he  begged  me  to  forge  your  name.  He 
had  already  signed  his  name.  And  I  did  what  he 
asked  —  because  he  begged  me  —  because  he  said 
that  would  save  him!  That's  the  God's  truth,  Mr. 
Harrison!" 

Kenneth's  white  face,  though  it  twitched,  was  tense 
with  purpose.  "That's  Jennie's  story,  father.  It's  for 
you  to  decide  whether  you  want  to  believe  her  story, 
and  have  me  disgraced,  which  does  n't  count  for  so 
much  —  but  to  have  the  work  and  ambition  of  your 
lifetime  ruined,  and  to  have  our  family  destroyed.  Or 
whether  you  want  to  accept  my  explanation,  which  will 
save  you,  the  family,  all  of  us,  and  which  will  place  the 
blame  where  it  belongs  —  upon  an  adventuress  who 
has  unfortunately  imposed  upon  all  of  us,  and  who 
already  has  a  record  as  a  forger." 

"Why  —  why  —  my  God,  Kenneth!"  she  breathed. 

She  was  appalled.  It  was  so  clever,  so  cunning, 
so  plausible,  this  swiftly  and  desperately  invented  ex- 
planation of  Kenneth's.  She  had  been  weak  before, 
but  now  her  strength  entirely  left  her,  and  she  sank 
into  a  chair  beside  the  table  and  gazed  whitely  at 
son  and  father,  hardly  able  to  think  in  this  chaos  which 
had  so  suddenly  enveloped  her.  The  two  men  were 
looking  at  each  other  fixedly,  the  older  man's  heavy 
eyebrows  drawn  down,  his  eyes  piercing.  His  eyes 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  397 

shifted  to  Jennie,  then  back  to  Kenneth,  then  rested  on 
Jennie. 

"You  have  just  two  hours  in  which  to  try  to  escape," 
he  announced. 

Galvanically  she  came  to  her  feet.  "What!  You 
don't  believe  Kenneth!" 

"Of  course  I  believe  Kenneth,"  he  said. 

Jennie  saw  that  Kenneth's  adroit  appeal  to  his  father's 
essential  worldliness  had  been  in  every  way  a  success; 
she  saw  that  Mr.  Harrison  did  not  believe  it,  but  that 
he  perceived  in  Kenneth's  explanation  that  chance  to 
save  himself  and  his  family  which  Kenneth  had  so 
cunningly  pointed  out.  His  gray  eyes  grew  hard  and 
regarded  her  with  indomitable  purpose,  his  voice  be- 
came crisp  and  harsh. 

"You'd  better  hurry,"  he  advised.  " I 'd  rather  have 
you  escape  than  for  us  all  to  be  dragged  through  a  trial. 
And  to  make  you  hurry  I  '11  tell  you  exactly  what  our 
course  will  be.  I  shall  notify  police  headquarters  of  my 
discovery  in  just  two  hours.  I  shall  tell  them,  and  we 
shall  tell  in  court,  if  it  ever  gets  to  court,  exactly  what 
Kenneth  has  told  me  —  and  you,  with  a  charge  of 
forgery  already  hanging  over  you;  won't  have  a  chance. 
Every  detail  of  your  past  will  substantiate  our  state- 
ments. And  to-morrow  I  shall  further  clear  ourselves 
of  you  by  beginning  suit  for  the  annulment  of  Kenneth's 
marriage  on  the  grounds  of  deception  practiced  upon 
him.  And  we'll  get  that  decree.  I  tell  you  you  don't 
have  a  chance.  So  get  away  from  here  —  quick!" 

"You  —  you  would  n't  do  that?"  whispered  Jennie. 

"I  shall  —  and  I  can  put  it  all  through!"  was  the 
dominant  reply.  "You've  got  just  two  hours!" 

For  a  moment  Jennie's  eyes  rested  upon  the  two 


398  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

men  —  upon  the  granite  face  of  Mr.  Harrison,  who  had 
seen  a  way  out,  and  upon  the  greenish-white  face 
of  Kenneth,  who  was  again  nervously  licking  his  thin 
lips  —  a  face  that  now,  stripped  of  its  fascination, 
seemed  only  selfish  and  weak  and  treacherous.  She 
might  have  struck  back  at  them  with  contemptuous 
words  —  but  words  of  any  kind  she  knew  would  neither 
change  them  nor  help  her.  She  knew  that  exactly  what 
Mr.  Harrison  said,  that  he  could  and  would  do;  she 
was  trapped  completely  —  and  trapped  all  the  more 
hopelessly  because  she  had  helped  trap  herself.  For  the 
moment  all  the  spirit  of  fight,  which  had  been  so  essen- 
tial an  element  of  the  Jennie  who  used  to  be,  was  gone 
utterly  out  of  her. 

In  silence  she  passed  the  two  men  and  entered  her 
suite  and  thence  passed  into  her  dressing-room.  With 
weak  hands  she  removed  her  few  jewels,  then  she  un- 
fastened her  gown  of  thinnest  chiffon  —  in  which 
smoldered  fires  which  would  flame  brilliantly  out  as  she 
walked  and  as  suddenly  recede  into  a  soft  glow.  The 
gown  slipped  from  her  figure  to  the  floor,  and  she  stepped 
outside  its  filmy  circle.  For  a  moment  she  gazed  down 
upon  its  deflated  beauty;  she  had  admired  it  more  than 
any  evening  gown  she  had  ever  owned.  It  was  to  her 
the  concrete  symbol  of  all  she  had  fought  for,  and  won, 
and  lost.  Looking  down  upon  those  few  ounces  of  silk, 
she  realized,  even  more  poignantly  than  a  few  moments 
earlier  when  face  to  face  with  those  two  determined 
men,  that  the  end  had  come.  Yes,  at  last  the  end  had 
come  —  the  end  to  all  glory,  all  dreams,  all  hopes  .  .  . 

She  changed  quickly  into  a  plain  suit,  of  a  finer  texture 
and  a  better  make,  but  otherwise  not  very  different 
from  the  serge  suit  in  which  five  years  before  she  had 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  399 

fled  out  of  her  old  world.  Snatching  a  veil,  she  passed 
out  through  the  living-room;  the  men  were  no  longer 
there ;  and  two  minutes  later  she  was  down  in  the  street. 
And  thus  in  her  simple  dark  suit  she  hurried  away  out 
of  her  glorious  new  world  to  —  She  did  not  know  to 
where.  She  had  no  plans.  She  had  only  the  instinct  to 
escape. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

JENNIE  SEEKS  SANCTUARY 

BUT  presently  as  she  hurried  on,  avoiding  police- 
men whenever  she  saw  one  idly  swinging  his 
night-stick,  Jennie  began  to  think  of  what  she 
should  do.  She  needed  help  —  advice  —  refuge. 

At  first  her  impulse  was  to  fly  back  to  her  father  —  to 
the  Pekin  —  back  to  her  other  world.  But  almost  in- 
stantly she  recognized  that  that  procedure  would  not 
be  a  wise  one:  the  police,  searching  for  Black  Jerry's 
daughter,  would  first  of  all  search  Black  Jerry's  home; 
further,  she  would  be  merely  walking  into  danger  were 
she  to  ask  her  father  to  come  to  her  aid.  She  turned 
next  to  the  other  person  who  had  tried  to  plan  her  des- 
tiny —  Uncle  George. 

It  was  still  only  a  little  past  seven.  She  remembered 
that  Uncle  George  usually  dined  late,  and  alv/ays 
dressed  elaborately  for  dinner.  She  slipped  into  a  tele- 
phone booth  in  a  Madison  Avenue  drug-store  and  called 
his  apartment.  As  she  had  calculated,  he  was  in.  Using 
the  code  they  had  developed  she  told  him  she  needed 
him  desperately,  and  if  he  could  help  her  he  should  come 
to  her  instantly  dressed  in  inconspicuous  garments. 
He  promptly  replied  that  she  should  be  waiting  for  him 
in  fifteen  minutes  at  the  northern  end  of  the  Mall  in 
Central  Park. 

She  had  been  standing  for  hardly  a  minute  at  the 
head  of  the  broad  flight  of  stone  steps  that  lead  down 
to  the  fountain  and  the  lake,  when  a  closed  car  halted 
at  the  curb  and  the  door  swung  open.  Inside  she  saw 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  401 

Uncle  George,  in  sober  garb,  and  she  quickly  stepped 
in  and  closed  the  door.  "Around  the  Park,  Jack," 
Uncle  George  said  to  the  chauffeur;  and  then  to  Jennie: 
"What's  the  trouble,  Jennie?  Speak  right  out;  no 
danger  if  the  chauffeur  does  hear  a  word  or  two.  He 's 
safe;  same  one  who  drove  us  away  from  the  Pekin  all 
those  years  ago.  Remember?" 

Jennie  glanced  forward.  Yes,  the  driver  was  the  same 
man  who  had  been  at  the  wheel  on  that  far-gone  night 
when  she  had  fled  the  world  of  her  childhood. 

Briefly  she  told  Uncle  George  the  situation.  She  told 
him  everything  —  even  that  Slim  had  been  the  person 
who  had  been  blackmailing  her  —  even  told  of  Slim's 
part  in  that  Morrison  check  business  of  long  ago. 

Uncle  George  cursed  her  husband  and  her  father-in- 
law  with  a  sulphurous  ferocity;  it  was  rather  startling 
to  Jennie,  for  Uncle  George  was  not  given  to  swearing. 
"And  to  think,"  he  raged,  "that  this  has  happened  after 
you ' ve  climbed  so  high  —  after  you  'd  done  so  much  for 
your  husband  —  after  you  seemed  to  have  everything ! " 

With  an  effort  he  controlled  himself.  "No  time  to 
waste  talking  about  that  now,  though.  We've  got  to 
talk  about  what  you're  going  to  do.  They  certainly 
have  got  you  for  fair,  Jennie!  Nothing  you  or  your 
father  can  say  will  count  for  a  nickel;  it  won't  be  be- 
lieved. They  can  put  you  away  on  that  charge  —  no 
doubt  of  it.  Well,  it  would  be  crazy  to  try  to  make  a 
get-away  now,  for  there'll  be  a  general  alarm  out  for 
you,  all  over  town,  all  over  the  country,  before  you 
could  even  get  fairly  started.  The  thing  to  do  is  to  hide 
until  the  thing  blows  over  a  bit,  and  they  've  given  you 
up  —  and  then  try  to  get  out  of  the  country,  say  across 
into  Canada." 


402  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

They  discussed  ways  and  means  —  with  the  result 
that  Jennie  found  herself  following  almost  the  same 
grooves  in  escaping  her  great  world  that  she  had  followed 
in  entering  it.  Uncle  George,  who  instinctively  prepared 
for  emergencies,  had  brought  a  traveling-bag  in  the  car. 
Half  an  hour  later  Jennie,  her  veil  down,  and  looking 
just  a  limp,  inconspicuous  child,  was  standing  once 
again  at  the  desk  of  that  most  irreproachable  hostelry 
for  manless  women,  the  Martha  Washington,  and  Uncle 
George,  again  in  his  kindly  voice  which  denoted  the 
deacon,  was  saying: 

"My  niece  is  n't  feeling  at  all  well,  and  a  doctor  I  took 
her  to  when  we  reached  town  ordered  her  to  stay  in 
bed  for  several  days.  I  've  got  to  be  going  on  to  Boston 

—  so  that's  why  I  brought  her  here  where  I  knew  she'll 
get  the  best  of  attention.  I  '11  send  her  around  some  more 
clothes  to-morrow.   From  what  I  Ve  heard,  you  always 
give  the  best  of  care  to  strangers." 

They  did  —  and  would.  But  despite  that  care,  Jennie 
slept  not  at  all  that  night.  She  lay  gazing  into  the  dark- 
ness of  her  austere  room,  thinking,  wondering,  fearing. 
What  heights  she  had  reached !  And  what  a  miserable 
ending  her  glory  had  come  to !  She  wondered  what  was 
going  to  happen  next  —  how  it  was  all  coming  out  .  .  . 

The  next  morning,  just  as  on  her  first  morning  here 
five  years  before,  she  looked  with  sickened  eagerness  at 
the  papers  which  the  maid  brought  her.  There  it  all  was ! 

—  forcing  the  war  to  share  the  first-page  headlines  with 
her.   It  was  a  sensation  such  as  disillusioned  and  sensa- 
tion-weary reporters  get  a  chance  at  only  once  in  every 
five  years  or  so,  and  their  typewriters  had  made  the 
most  of  it.  Jennie  gasped  when  she  read  all  the  details 
set  down  in  order  and  perpetuated  in  print.    Nothing 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  403 

was  missed.  The  daughter  of  the  notorious  Black  Jerry 

—  the  flight  to  escape  punishment  for  forgery  —  her 
long  and  carefully  planned  residence  as  a  student  among 
the  exclusive  girls  of  Braithewood  Hall  —  her  marriage 

—  her  amazing  social  success  —  her  complete  deception 
of  the  socially  supreme  —  and  then  in  the  end  the  truth 
of  the  old  phrase  that  blood  will  tell,  with  her  new  incur- 
sion into  the  field  of  forgery,  with  the  inevitable  expo- 
sure —  and  now  her  second  flight  to  escape  justice.   It 
was  a  wonderful  romance !  —  particularly  with  the  color 
and  interpretation  which  she  knew  had  emanated  through 
careful  suggestion  from  Kenneth  and  Mr.  Harrison. 

Why,  all  New  York  knew  about  her  now  and  were 
talking  about  her!  What  were  her  high  friends  saying 
as  they  read  this  story  —  Mrs.  Shipman  and  the  others? 

And  Sue  and  Mrs.  Harrison?  She  felt  much  more 
sick  than  Uncle  George  had  represented  her  to  be  when 
she  thought  about  them.  They  had  always  been  so 
true  and  loyal  and  frank !  —  so  genuine  in  their  affec- 
tion! But  what  were  they  thinking  now? 

And  she  thought  of  her  father,  dragged  again  from 
his  sought-for  obscurity  into  first-page  prominence.  He 
had  tried  so  hard  to  help  her,  and  this  was  the  end  of  it  all ! 

And  the  police?  She  shivered  at  every  sound  approach- 
ing her  room.  More  and  more  such  of  her  mind  as  was 
not  possessed  by  fear,  was  concerned  in  Uncle  George's 
plan  to  get  her  across  into  Canada.  If  she  could  only 
get  into  Canada! 

She  was  thoroughly  unnerved  and  frightened,  and 
she  became  truly  a  sick  young  woman,  as  much  so  as 
if  she  had  been  prostrated  with  brain  fever;  sick  with 
that  unnerving  and  exhausting  illness  which  is  a  combi- 
nation of  fear,  suspense,  and  enforced  inactivity. 


404  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

In  feverish  flashes  she  looked  back  upon  her  glorious 
past,  and  what  stood  out  most  clearly  in  it  was  the 
figure  of  Kenneth.  Cynical,  bitter,  and  frightened,  she 
raved  into  her  pillow  against  him  and  against  all  those 
in  the  world  he  and  she  had  inhabited.  She  recalled  that 
Kenneth  had  said  that  Gloria  was  the  one  who  had 
exposed  her.  But  how  had  Gloria  learned?  From  Slim 
Jackson,  undoubtedly.  She  tried  to  reason  out  Slim's 
motives  —  but  her  surmises  never  satisfied  her,  and  not 
till  long  after,  and  under  very  different  circumstances, 
did  she  learn  the  truth. 

The  truth  was  really  far  from  complex  if  one  fully 
understood  Slim's  nature.  That  young  gentleman, 
tingling  to  make  Jennie  suffer  for  her  rebuff  of  him,  had 
with  peculiar  cunning  considered  how  he  could  gratify 
his  desire  for  revenge  and  also  make  a  profit  by  the  same 
act.  He  had  thought  of  telling  Kenneth  directly.  That 
plan  he  had  dismissed;  it  might  injure  Jennie,  but  it 
would  not  help  him.  Also  such  direct  procedure  might 
lead  to  unhappy  eventualities  with  Black  Jerry.  He 
then  had  what  he  considered  one  of  his  inspirations. 
Gloria  Raymond!  He  remembered  how  Gloria  hated 
Jennie  —  how  Jennie  had  been  the  instrument  of  ending 
Kenneth's  infatuation  for  Gloria.  By  telling  Gloria, 
making  her  swear  to  keep  secret  the  source  of  her  infor- 
mation, and  allowing  her  to  have  the  credit  of  exposing 
Jennie  to  Kenneth,  he  would  be  the  winner  on  every 
count  and  he  would  place  Gloria  under  eternal  obliga- 
tion to  him.  And  after  Gloria  had  acted,  who  knew  what 
might  not  happen?  One  thing,  though,  seemed  definite: 
sometime,  somehow,  he  could  collect  upon  that  obliga- 
tion. 

And  as  Slim  had  planned,  so  had  he  done. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  405 

Uncle  George  had  said  that  Jennie  would  not  hear 
from  him  again  until  his  plans  were  made  and  it  was 
safe  to  try  to  execute  them ;  this  might  possibly  mean 
weeks.  There  now  followed  slow  days  and  nights  of 
this  shivering  illness  which  possessed  her.  During  these 
days  while  Jennie  waited,  tossing  about  her  bed,  and 
ignorant  of  everything  except  that  which  she  gathered 
from  the  daily  papers,  much  was  going  on  out  in  that 
great  world  which  so  lately  had  been  her  own.  The 
proceedings  for  the  annulment  of  her  marriage  to  Ken- 
neth had  been  formally  instituted.  Kenneth  went  about 
with  the  subdued,  retiring  manner  of  one  who  is 
stricken  with  public  shame.  He  received  much  sym- 
pathy for  his  misfortune.  There  was  a  quiet  meeting 
between  him  and  Gloria,  deftly  arranged  by  Slim  Jack- 
son. Gloria  was  more  than  willing  to  see  Kenneth; 
despite  the  notoriety  brought  upon  him  by  his  wife, 
he  was  a  far  more  important  and  promising  personage 
than  he  had  been  the  summer  before  when  she  had  so 
boldly  gone  man-hunting  for  him.  At  this  meeting  she 
easily  convinced  him  that  the  letter  which  had  caused 
the  breach  between  them  had  been  just  another  sample 
of  Jennie's  ability  as  a  forger,  and  that  the  affair  with 
Slim  Jackson  had  been  no  more  than  a  bit  of  a  foolish 
girl's  summer  nonsense.  It  became  understood  between 
them  that  as  soon  as  Kenneth  was  legally  free,  they 
were  to  be  married. 

Kenneth  was  mightily  pleased  at  this  prospect;  de- 
spite his  father  having  helped  him  out  of  his  recent  pre- 
dicament, he  saw  that  he  was  going  to  need  money,  and 
need  it  badly.  Likewise,  when  Slim  Jackson  learned  of 
this  understanding,  he  was  also  mightily  pleased.  Mat- 
ters were  working  out  as  he  had  hoped  they  would. 


406  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

There  was  no  doubt  that  he  would  be  able  to  collect  — 
and  big!  —  for  Gloria  had  endless  money  of  her  own. 

As  for  Mrs.  Harrison  and  Sue,  this  generous-hearted 
mother  and  daughter  were  bewildered  and  subdued;  a 
hush  had  settled  upon  their  lives.  Naturally  they  were 
not  told  the  truth,  and  they  had  to  accept  what  every- 
body was  accepting.  And  yet,  remembering  the  un- 
aggressive  stages  by  which  Jennie  had  risen,  remember- 
ing how  she  had  worked,  remembering  how  simple  she 
had  always  seemed,  they  could  hardly  believe  what  was 
being  circulated  as  common  knowledge.  It  could  hardly 
seem  possible  of  the  Jennie  they  had  known  —  and  yet 
there  were  the  facts ! 

And  during  these  days  while  the  town  still  talked  of 
Jennie's  story,  and  while  the  police  were  combing  the 
city  and  the  whole  country  for  her,  Black  Jerry  wore  a 
blacker  look  than  ever.  He  knew  such  facts  as  Uncle 
George  had  communicated  to  him,  which,  of  course, 
were  not  all.  He  could  hardly  hold  himself  in  check. 
In  fact,  all  that  restrained  him  from  violent  action  was 
Uncle  George's  warning  that  unless  Jerry  exercised  the 
greatest  control,  he  would  certainly  ruin  their  chance  of 
getting  Jennie  across  into  Canada  —  which  was  now 
the  one  hope  for  her  that  remained  to  them. 

Early  in  these  days  of  Jennie's  hiding,  an  incident 
took  place  which,  though  it  was  not  directly  to  influence 
Jennie's  action,  nevertheless  was  to  intensify  the  mo- 
tives of  at  least  one  person  directly  identified  with  her 
destiny.  The  day  before  Jennie  had  disappeared,  Slim 
Jackson  had  closed  his  regular  New  York  season,  though 
prior  to  that  he  had  announced  that  three  weeks  after 
closing  he  would  put  on  a  "revue "  for  the  summer.  Two 
days  after  the  closing,  Black  Jerry  had  received  by  the 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  407 

hand  of  a  messenger  a  letter  written  upon  the  paper  of 
a  smart  uptown  hotel.  The  letter  was  written  in  a  large, 
sprawling  hand,  and  requested  Jerry  to  call  upon  the 
writer  at  once.  It  was  signed  "  Doris  Dorraine."  Jerry 
was  well  enough  acquainted  with  stage  affairs  to  know 
who  "Doris  Dorraine"  was.  He  decided  to  go,  but  not 
knowing  what  might  be  afoot  he  decided  it  would  be 
well  to  have  a  witness.  So  Uncle  George  went  with  him. 

Doris  Dorraine  received  them  in  her  pink  sitting- 
room,  herself  in  a  pink  summer  gown  of  imported  linen. 
She  was  a  slender,  lissome  blonde,  with  rings  around  her 
eyes  —  looking  rather  more  tired  and  hard  and  sophis- 
ticated than  a  woman  who  was  only  twenty-five  should 
look. 

"I  read  what  happened  to  your  daughter,"  she  said 
to  Jerry,  "and  I  think  I  can  tell  you  some  things  that 
will  interest  you."  Her  grayish-green  eyes,  whose 
archly  coquettish  glance  she  had  counted  such  an  asset 
on  the  stage,  were  now  alight  with  fury.  She  went 
straight  to  the  heart  of  what  she  had  to  say,  not  bother- 
ing to  give  an  explanation  of  why  she  was  saying  it.  But 
for  all  her  sophistication,  she  was  a  simple  type  and  her 
motives  were  simple.  When  Slim  Jackson,  in  his  passion- 
ate appeal  to  Jennie  to  come  with  him,  had  said  that 
he  himself  could  get  her  the  evidence  necessary  for  a 
divorce,  Slim  was  speaking  the  truth.  One  source  from 
which  he  knew  he  could  have  secured  it  was  his  dancing 
partner.  There  had  recently  been  an  artfully  concealed 
affair  between  Kenneth  and  Doris  Dorraine,  which  Ken- 
neth had  abruptly  broken  off.  And  when  Slim  Jackson 
had  ended  his  season,  and  she  had  asked  about  re- 
hearsals for  the  "revue,"  Slim  had  told  her  that  they 
were  through  as  a  dancing  team,  that  she  no  longer  had 


40  8  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

the  necessary  class.  Her  vanity,  her  pride,  knew  only 
one  desire  —  to  strike  back  at  both  men  as  hard  as  she 
could ;  and  she  was  using  the  method  of  striking  natural 
to  a  woman  of  her  type. 

The  sentences  which  poured  from  the  unembarrassed 
lips  of  this  widely  advertised  young  beauty  dealt  with 
matters  which  are  never  set  down  in  print  intended  for 
the  public  eye,  and  they  shall  not  be  recorded  here. 
They  had  to  do  with  the  profligacies,  the  abandon,  the 
inhumanities,  which  are  hinted  at  in  the  newspapers 
when  some  celebrated  murder  or  scandal  makes  the 
public  shudderingly  wonder  just  what  does  go  on  behind 
and  beneath  the  brilliant  surface  of  Broadway  life :  — 
that  under  life  where  bonds  are  loosed,  where  pleasure 
rules  with  unchallenged  sovereignty,  and  where  the 
sharers  of  pleasure  (if  they  become  tiresome,  or  incon- 
venient, or  perhaps  a  menace)  are  made  to  vanish  or 
meet  inexplicable  ends :  —  thus  at  least  the  papers  hint. 

But  this  very  young  woman  did  not  hint;  she  spoke 
the  unspeakable ;  and  she  spoke  out  of  her  own  knowl- 
edge. What  she  said  concerned  chiefly  Kenneth  and 
Slim,  and  what  each  had  done.  And  in  connection  with 
Kenneth  she  spoke  specifically  of  a  girl  named  Myrtle 
Freeman,  whose  disappearance  four  months  back  was 
still  a  police  -mystery.  If  what  she  said  was  the  truth, 
then  there  was  nothing  at  which  Kenneth  had  stopped 
in  his  pursuit  of  self-gratification  and  nothing  at  which 
he  had  halted  to  avoid  the  consequences  of  exposure  — 
and,  despite  her  venomous  hate,  there  was  no  doubting 
Doris  Dorraine's  credibility. 

As  for  Slim  Jackson,  his  secret  record  was  just  as 
dark;  the  chief  difference  being  that  Slim,  while  also 
a  participant,  had  made  great  sums  as  entrepreneur  and 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  409 

business  manager  for  this  secret  pleasure.  Many  a  nice 
girl  and  pretty  girl  had  Slim  first  fascinated  by  dancing 
with  her  in  a  public  ballroom  —  and  had  then  in  the 
course  of  time  introduced  into  the  cast  of  his  unadver- 
tised  performances.  .  .  . 

"God!"  breathed  Uncle  George  when  they  were  ou( 
of  the  scented  boudoir  and  down  in  the  fresh  air  of  tht 
street;  "that  handsome  son-in-law  of  yours  is  just 
about  as  rotten  as  they  make  'em  —  even  on  Broadway! 
He  ought  to  be  sent  to  the  chair  about  twelve  separate 
times!" 

"Oh,  I'll  get  him!"  gritted  Black  Jerry,  his  dark 
eyes  glittering  with  terrible  purpose. 

Uncle  George  understood.  He  put  a  quieting  hand  on 
Jerry's  arm.  "  No,  you  don't,  Jerry.  Not  that  he  does  n't 
deserve  what  you're  thinking  about.  But  that  would 
interfere  with  all  our  chances  for  getting  Jennie  away. 
We've  got  to  think  first  of  Jennie." 

"Jennie  —  my  God!"  Jerry  said  huskily.  "All  right 
—  I  '11  behave.  But  to  think  we  thought  we  were  doing 
fine  by  Jennie  when  our  plans  worked  out  so  she  mar- 
ried that!" 

"Jerry,"  Uncle  George  said  meditatively,  "it  strikes 
me  that  there  must  have  been  something  wrong  with 
our  plan  from  the  start.  But  I  can't  just  see  what  it 
was." 

Black  Jerry  did  not  even  hear  this  last  remark. 
"Jennie!"  he  said  with  heaving  chest.  "Yes,  I'll  hold 
back  —  but  I  'm  going  to  put  Casey  wise  to  all  the  other 
things  this  young  dame  upstairs  has  told  me  that  pair 
has  been  doing.  Mebbe  Casey  can  fasten  something 
on  them.  Yes,  I  '11  hold  back  on  Kenneth  Harrison  for 
Jennie's  sake.  And  I  '11  hold  back  on  Slim  Jackson,  too." 


41  o  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Doris  Dorraine  had  somehow  learned  that  it  had  been 
Slim  who  had  betrayed  Jennie's  secret  to  Gloria  Ray- 
mond, and  this  fact  had  been  one  of  the  many  items  she 
had  just  recounted  to  the  two  men.  "Slim  Jackson 
slipping  Jennie  the  double-cross!"  He  swore.  "Oh,  I  '11 
get  Slim  Jackson,  too!" 

"But  Jennie  first,"  insisted  Uncle  George  soothingly. 
"Remember,  we  started  this  mess  —  we're  responsible 
—  it's  up  to  you  and  me  to  get  Jennie  out.  Give  me 
your  hand  on  it,  Jerry  —  it's  got  to  be  Jennie  first!" 

They  had  turned  into  a  side  street  and  had  halted 
and  were  facing  each  other.  Jerry's  eyes  were  glowering 
balefully,  his  great  chest  was  heaving  mightily.  But 
instantly  he  put  his  big  hand  into  Uncle  George's  to 
seal  the  promise. 

"Sure  —  Jennie  first!"  he  agreed  huskily. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

IN  WHICH  JENNIE  AWAKES 

THE  days  wore  on.  And  silently  the  diverse  ele- 
ments of  life  which  had  affected  and  were  still 
to  affect  the  destiny  of  Jennie  M alone,  and  the 
destinies  of  many  other  persons,  went  on  gathering 
intensity  for  one  of  those  supreme  moments  of  energy 
which  we,  with  our  trained  sense  for  theatricalism,  term 
climaxes:  though  the  only  visible  evidences  of  this 
activity  were  the  continued  search  for  Jennie,  the  pro- 
ceedings for  the  annulment  of  her  marriage,  and  a  now 
open  though  subdued  courtship  between  Gloria  and 
Kenneth  which  every  one  understood  was  merely  wait- 
ing for  a  deferred  consummation. 

These  further  days  were  for  Jennie,  up  in  her  nun's 
room,  just  a  repetition  of  the  many  days  that  had  gone 
before.  Her  girlish  face  and  figure  lost  some  of  their 
young  roundness  under  the  continued  strain.  She  grew 
more  sick  with  that  sickness  which  arises  chiefly  from  a 
festering  soul.  And  even  less  was  she  able  to  think  of 
any  one  else  except  as  that  person  concerned  her  fate; 
and  even  less  was  she  able  to  think  of  anything  except 
what  was  to  become  of  her.  But  before  selfishness  be 
urged  too  strongly  against  her,  it  must  be  remembered 
in  her  behalf  that  all  the  circumstances  of  her  career  had 
combined  to  make  her  self-centered,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  she  was  still  very  young,  and  that  Life  — 
Life  which  she  had  thought  she  could  manage  so  easily 
—  that  Life  was  not  yet  done  with  her.  .  .  . 

At  last,  when  July  had  arrived,  there  came  a  break 


412  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

in  her  solitude.  Uncle  George,  again  looking  very  much 
the  kindly  deacon,  called  upon  her  in  her  room  —  a 
privilege  which  was  gained  him  in  this  semi-nunnery  by 
his  elderly  years,  his  benevolent  demeanor,  and  the 
understanding  that  Jennie  was  his  niece.  After  the 
maid  was  gone  and  he  had  closed  the  door,  he  lost  no 
word  in  coming  to  his  business. 

"Jennie,  it's  all  settled.  Things  have  quieted  down 
in  New  York ;  the  police  have  practically  given  you  up. 
To-night  we  make  your  get-away." 

"Oh,  Uncle  George!"  she  breathed. 

"Here's  how  it's  all  doped  out,  Jennie  —  and  every- 
thing is  ready  and  waiting.  This  afternoon  I  call  to 
take  you  out  to  a  country  sanitarium;  an  easy  closed 
car;  Jack  will  be  driving,  and  you  know  how  safe  he  is. 
But  we  're  not  going  to  run  the  risk  of  taking  a  train  at 
any  New  York  station;  too  many  plain-clothes  men 
watching  them  on  general  principles.  We  shoot  you 
out  of  town  to  a  place  where  I  turn  you  over  to  an  old 
lady  named  Ferguson  —  she 's  safe,  and  she  '11  be  good 
to  you,  and  you  're  to  call  her  your  aunt  —  and  then 
Jack  shoots  you  across  the  State  line,  and  over  into 
Connecticut.  There  you  and  Mrs.  Ferguson  catch  the 
New  England  night  express  for  Canada,  and  to-morrow 
morning  you  '11  be  eating  a  fine  breakfast  in  Montreal. 
How's  that?" 

"Uncle  George  —  safe  in  Canada!"  was  all  she  could 
say.  " It's  —  it's  simply  wonderful,  Uncle  George!" 

"Then  pull  yourself  together  and  get  ready.  I've 
already  told  the  jailer  of  this  convent  that  I'm  taking 
you  away  this  afternoon.  So  I  '11  be  showing  up  again 
in  a  couple  of  hours." 

When  he  had  gone,  though  she  had  nothing  to  do  ex- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  413 

cept  get  dressed  and  she  had  two  hours  for  that,  Jennie 
nevertheless  slipped  out  of  bed  and  dressed  with  fren- 
zied haste.  After  doing  this,  she  had  nothing  to  occupy 
her  but  her  own  thoughts,  and  her  thoughts  inevitably 
were  all  upon  her  immediate  future.  In  less  than  twenty- 
four  hours  she  would  be  safe  —  out  of  it  all !  The  mere 
realization  of  this  partially  restored  her  strength,  and 
partially  restored  that  balance  of  mind  which  she  had 
been  lacking  all  the  days  she  had  been  here. 

Her  fear,  her  nervousness,  were  almost  entirely  gone. 
Suspense  she  felt,  of  course.  But  she  considered  herself 
already  safe.  She  knew  Uncle  George  —  knew  that  any- 
thing he  put  his  brain  to,  and  said  he  would  achieve, 
was  in  reality  already  achieved.  Yes,  she  was  safe! 

And  then,  while  she  was  in  the  midst  of  her  swift, 
exultant  joy,  she  quite  mechanically  picked  up  a  news- 
paper which  Uncle  George,  not  knowing  that  he  had 
done  it,  had  left  behind.  For  a  long  time  now —  ever 
since  her  own  story  had  first  begun  to  fade  in  the  pa- 
pers and  then  had  vanished  from  them  altogether — Jen- 
nie had  had  no  interest  in  newspapers,  and  had  given 
the  maid  no  further  orders  to  bring  them  up  to  her.  In 
consequence  this  paper  Uncle  George  had  forgotten  was 
the  first  she  had  seen  in  almost  two  weeks. 

She  glanced  at  the  front  page,  and  suddenly  halted 
at  two  words  which  comprised  part  of  a  black  headline. 
The  two  words  were  "Harry  Edwards."  During  the 
many  days  since  she  had  fled  from  Kenneth  and  his 
father,  in  her  egomaniacal,  feverish  fear,  in  her  very 
real  illness,  her  mind  had  merely  touched  Harry 
Edwards  and  then  glanced  off.  But  it  was  quite  other 
now:  she  read  with  staring  eyes,  with  sharp  gasps. 

The  story  did  not  tell  her  all,  for  it  was  the  account 


414  "4  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

of  what  seemed  to  be  the  last  day  of  Harry's  trial.  But 
what  the  paper  did  not  tell,  the  previous  installments  of 
this  murder  serial,  Jennie's  mind  easily  supplied.  Joseph 
Graves  and  John  Pearson,  those  witnesses  who  were  to 
have  disappeared,  had  taken  the  stand  and  testified 
how  Harry  had  killed  Larry  Murdock.  Cross-examina- 
tion by  the  defendant's  counsel  had  only  served  to 
strengthen  the  credibility  of  these  two  witnesses.  Sam 
Conway  had  taken  the  stand  and  had  testified  to  having 
parted  with  Murdock  on  the  fatal  night  after  they  had 
threshed  out  their  differences  and  had  become  recon- 
ciled. About  the  murder  he  knew  nothing  at  all.  As 
for  Harry,  he  had  always  liked  him  for  his  father's  sake 
and  had  tried  to  help  him ;  he  grudgingly  admitted  that 
Harry  was  a  bit  hot-tempered  and  reckless  —  in  fact, 
Conway's  attitude  was  that  of  one  who  was  trying  to 
shield  Harry,  which  was  the  most  damaging  attitude 
in  its  effect  upon  the  jury  that  he  could  have  taken. 
Harry's  testimony  had  consisted  chiefly  of  denial,  un- 
supported by  evidence,  and  he  had  been  unable  to  ex- 
plain or  prove  his  whereabouts  at  the  time  the  murder 
was  committed.  The  reporter  very  skillfully  conveyed 
the  impression  —  as  definite  and  conclusive  as  would 
have  been  a  direct  statement  —  that  there  was  no 
doubt  what  the  jury's  verdict  would  be,  and  no  doubt 
what  would  be  the  judge's  sentence.  The  judge's  at- 
titude was  well  known;  he  was  in  favor  of  stamping 
out  the  thuggery,  and  all  the  gangster  and  gunman 
methods,  which  had  crept  into  New  York  city  politics ; 
he  would  undoubtedly  seize  this  chance  of  giving  a 
clear  warning  to  all  evil  elements  by  inflicting  the  ex- 
treme penalty. 

Jennie  slowly  wilted  down  into  a  denim-covered  mor- 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  415 

ris  chair,  and  sat  there  shivering,  staring.  There  had 
been  dramatic  episodes  in  her  career,  she  had  played 
her  part  successfully  in  many  a  brilliant  and  trying 
scene.  But  the  tensest  drama  of  her  life  had  been  re- 
served for  these  present  moments  —  and  that  great 
drama  was  to  be  enacted  solely  between  the  two  per- 
sons she  was,  with  no  sensational  setting  and  no  breath- 
less audience  —  just  herself,  all  alone,  huddled  in  a 
faded  and  worn  hotel  chair. 

Safety  was  hers.  To-morrow,  and  all  would  be  well. 
And  yet,  if  she  chose  safety,  Harry  .  .  .  The  alternatives 
were  now  much  more  sharply  defined  than  when  the 
case  had  been  put  before  her  weeks  ago  by  her  father 
and  Uncle  George.  Then  Harry's  case  had  not  been  so 
desperate;  at  least,  she  had  repeated  to  herself  that 
something  would  develop,  that  somehow  the  matter 
would  straighten  itself  out.  And  at  that  time  her  case 
had  not  been  so  desperate  either.  True,  there  was  her 
brilliant  career  which  then  had  been  at  stake  —  but 
great  as  that  had  seemed,  it  was  not  so  important  as 
her  present  safety. 

It  was  a  bitter  fight  that  was  fought  out,  in  that  little 
room,  upon  the  stage  of  Jennie's  soul.  The  issues  were 
clear-cut.  Either  she  went  away  to  her  certain  safety 
and  Harry  went  to  his  certain  doom,  or  else  she  cleared 
Harry,  and  went  shamefully  to  prison  upon  the  forgery 
charge  her  husband  and  her  father-in-law  had  made 
against  her  —  and  she  knew  she  could  expect  no  mercy 
from  these  two.  There  was  no  possible  compromise  — 
no  halfway  measure  —  no  chance  for  bargaining.  It 
was  either  definitely  the  one,  or  definitely  the  other. 

Jennie  never  knew,  and  perhaps  never  will  know, 
what  was  the  thought  or  consideration  that  tilted  her 


4 1 6  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

wavering,  struggling  soul  toward  what  was  finally  its 
decision.  Perhaps  it  was  the  unconscious  remembrance 
of  Harry's  frank,  loyal  blue  eyes  that  day  she  had  paid 
the  stolen  visit  to  him  in  the  Tombs,  when  he  had  told 
her,  since  she  did  not  love  him,  to  live  out  her  life  in  her 
own  way,  and  had  wished  her  the  best  of  luck.  But 
whatever  it  was  that  swayed  her,  long  before  Uncle 
George  reappeared  she  suddenly  crumpled  up  in  the 
big  chair  and  cried  with  a  frantic,  throaty  sob: 

"I'm  going  to  give  myself  up —  I'm  going  to  help 
Harry!  I  —  I  don't  care  what  happens  to  me!" 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

IN  WHICH  JENNIE'S  DRAMA  REACHES  AN 
ANTI-CLIMAX 

SHE  kept  on  sobbing  out  her  purpose  while  she 
waited  for  Uncle  George  to  come.  As  she  sobbed 
on,  her  determination  became  more  fixed;  an  exal- 
tation began  to  swell  in  her  as  in  one  who  goes  forth  to 
sacrifice.  And  then  she  thought  of  something  she  might 
have  done  and  that  thought  pricked  her  bubble  of  exal- 
tation and  made  her  suddenly  view  herself  as  small  and 
shameful. 

The  sudden  thought  was  that  many  weeks  ago,  when 
Uncle  George  and  her  father  had  first  broached  the 
matter  of  Harry's  extremity,  she  might  of  her  own 
accord,  while  still  in  a  high  station,  have  gone  to  the 
District  Attorney's  office,  told  the  truth,  exposed  herself, 
and  have  established  Harry's  alibi.  That  would  have 
been  a  fine  thing  to  do  —  heroic  and  magnificent  —  to 
have  given  up  voluntarily  position  and  honor  in  order 
that  justice  might  be  done  a  man.  That  had  been  her 
big  chance.  Yes,  that  would  have  been  a  splendid  thing 
to  have  done!  Whatever  else  people  might  then  have 
said  about  her,  they  would  at  least  have  said  that  she 
was  a  woman  of  courage  and  honor  —  something  of  a 
heroine  in  a  way.  But  now  —  exposed  —  hunted  — 
what  a  pitiable  figure  she  would  seem  in  all  the  world's 
eyes  even  if  she  did  go  to  Harry's  rescue! 

Yes,  she  had  missed  her  big  chance.  She  was  going  to 
do  in  a  poor  way  what  she  might  have  done  in  a  big  way. 
That  proved  that  she  was  not  a  big  woman.  She  cried 


4 1 8  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

yet  further  as  her  mind  dwelt  upon  this.  But  her  tears 
were  not  tears  of  self-pity.  They  were  tears  of  abase- 
ment. She  felt  herself  so  poignantly  smaller  than  she 
had  always  considered  herself  to  be. 

When  Uncle  George  finally  did  come,  she  changed 
from  self-accusation  to  fury. 

"Why  didn't  you  tell  me  about  Harry  Edwards's 
trial  —  about  what  is  about  to  happen  to  him?"  she 
demanded. 

"Why  —  why,"  stammered  the  old  man,  taken  aback 
for  a  moment.  Then  he  recovered  himself.  "For  one 
reason,  Jennie,  this  is  the  first  day  I  have  seen  you  since 
you  ran  away.  And  another  is,  I  supposed  you  knew 
all  about  it  from  the  papers  —  and  knew  just  what  you 
wanted  to  do  in  that  matter." 

Her  sudden  indignation  very  obviously  had  no  case 
against  Uncle  George,  so  the  flare  of  her  temper  died 
down. 

"Hurry  up,  Jennie  —  just  slip  on  that  veil,"  Uncle 
George  went  on.  "The  car's  waiting  below  and  every- 
thing is  all  fixed  for  the  get-away." 

"There 's  not  going  to  be  any  get-away,  Uncle  George. 
I  'm  going  to  give  myself  up." 

"Give  yourself  up!"  exclaimed  the  old  man,  staring 
at  her.  ' '  Now,  what  in  thunder  are  you  thinking  about? 

"Don't  you  see,  Uncle  George?  It 's  because  of  Harry. 
Harry's  in  a  much  worse  fix  than  I  am."  And  she  went 
on,  rather  breathlessly,  and  covered  the  ground  her 
mind  had  covered  since  she  had  read  the  story  in  the 
paper  he  had  left  behind.  Uncle  George  protested  — 
argued  —  but  finally,  sighing  deeply,  he  gave  in. 

"It's  going  to  be  just  as  you  say,  Jennie.  After  all, 
it's  your  own  life  Jerry  and  I  have  been  monkeying 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  419 

with,  and  I  guess  you  Ve  got  a  right  to  do  with  it  as  you 
please.  But,  my  God,"  he  groaned,  "after  all  the  big 
things  we  thought  we'd  done,  to  have  it  all  end  up  like 
this!  Jerry  —  it  will  'most  kill  Jerry!" 

He  put  his  hands  upon  her  shoulders  and  steadily 
regarded  her  with  lashless,  affectionate  eyes.  His  next 
words  were  soft,  and  rather  husky.  "But  after  all, 
Jennie  —  you're  a  mighty  square  little  guy!" 

"No,  I  'm  not.  I  Ve  been  a  —  a  coward."  Her  tone 
changed  to  almost  breathless  eagerness.  "I  want  to  go 
down  right  now  —  and  I  want  to  see  Harry  the  first 
thing  —  so  he  won't  have  to  worry  an  extra  minute!" 

"Not  so  fast,  dear.  We've  got  to  tell  Jerry.  And  if 
you  want  to  see  Harry  first,  before  the  grand  blow- 
off,  there's  some  things  that  have  got  to  be  fixed  up. 
And  if  you  're  going  to  do  this  —  you  might  as  well  clean 
up  the  whole  business." 

Uncle  George  picked  up  the  telephone  and  spoke  in 
succession  to  many  numbers.  If  the  very  proper  young 
lady  at  the  switchboard  below  had  had  any  idea  of  who 
these  persons  were  she  was  getting  on  the  wire  for  the 
kindly  old  uncle  of  the  sick  girl  above,  that  proper  young 
lady  would  have  been  seized  with  shivers  and  would  have 
had  matter  for  amazed  conversation  for  months  to  come. 

"It's  all  fixed  as  far  as  I  can  fix  it,"  said  Uncle  George, 
turning  from  the  telephone.  "Your  father  will  meet  us 
down  in  front  of  the  Tombs.  I  guess  we'd  better  be 
beating  it." 

And  then  another  thing  which  she  had  long  forgotten 
flashed  upon  Jennie.  "Wait  a  minute!  There's  Casey!" 

"Casey?  You  mean  Officer  Casey?  How  does  Casey 
figure  in  this?" 

"Long  ago,  he  caught  me,  and  he  let  me  off,  but  he 


420  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

made  me  promise  that  if  anything  ever  went  wrong  with 
me,  I  was  to  let  him  have  the  arrest."  Briefly  she  told 
Uncle  George  the  circumstances. 

"Casey  is  still  a  Central  Office  man,"  said  Uncle 
George,  "and  is  likely  to  be  hanging  around  Headquar- 
ters at  this  hour.  You  might  try  for  him  there." 

Jennie  did,  and  presently,  in  the  crisp,  polite  tone 
which  an  improved  police  administration  had  established 
as  the  manner  for  answering  a  telephone  call,  she  heard 
a  heavy  voice  in  her  ear: 

"Officer  Casey  speaking." 

"Mr.  Casey,  you  may  not  recognize  my  voice.  But 
you  want  very  much  to  see  me.  Please  be  waiting  for 
me  in  front  of  the  Tombs  in  fifteen  minutes." 

She  hung  up,  and  presently,  veiled,  she  was  down  in 
the  closed  car,  the  "safe"  Jack  at  the  wheel.  Her  imag- 
ination worked  feverishly  as  she  sped  back  to  the  region 
which  had  given  her  her  being;  it  pictured  sensational 
scenes  in  which  she  dramatized  herself  —  scenes  that 
might  have  been.  In  her  mind  she  saw  herself,  as  the 
solemn-voiced  judge  was  pronouncing,  "Harry  Edwards, 
I  sentence  you  to  — "  rising  in  the  startled  court-room, 
dramatically  throwing  aside  her  veil,  and  calling  out, 
"Harry  Edwards  is  an  innocent  man,  and  I  am  here  to 
prove  it!"  She  thought  of  other  such  big  moments,  such 
tremendous  climaxes,  as  there  had  always  been  in  the 
old  plays  of  the  Bowery,  and  as  still  appeared  in  some 
of  the  great  successes  of  Broadway.  But  then  — :  such 
big  scenes  were  not  to  be  hers.  What  she  was  doing  she 
was  doing  in  a  very  commonplace  way  —  extremely 
undramatic  —  as  a  discredited  woman,  who  is  also  a 
fugitive,  can  only  do  them.  .  .  . 

As  the  car  drew  up  beside  the  Tombs,  she  saw,  on  the 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  421 

sidewalk,  Casey  and  her  father.  Uncle  George  pressed 
her  back  into  her  seat  and  stepped  out  first. 

"You're  not  to  make  any  scene,  Jerry  —  not  now, 
anyhow,"  said  Uncle  George.  "Get  me?" 

Black  Jerry  nodded,  his  dark  face  lined  and  set. 

"And,  Casey,  she's  your  prisoner  all  right  —  she's 
given  herself  up  to  you  —  but  don't  make  the  actual 
pinch  for  a  few  minutes.  You  can  string  along  behind 
us  —  you  and  Jerry." 

Uncle  George  then  helped  her  out  of  the  carriage. 
Black  Jerry  looked  at  her,  showed  no  signs  of  recogni- 
tion, and  glanced  away.  But  Officer  Casey,  as  she 
passed  him,  said  in  a  low  voice: 

"  I'm  awfully  sorry  things  broke  this  way,  Jennie  — 
awfully  sorry." 

She  entered  the  Tombs  on  Uncle  George's  arm,  her 
father  and  Casey  behind  them.  For  a  moment  she  stood 
alone,  watching  the  herd  of  silent,  strained-faced  visi- 
tors waiting  to  see  prisoners,  and  watching  the  brusque, 
domineering  keepers  —  and  she  thought  of  the  time 
when  she  had  been  here  on  her  furtive  visit  to  Harry: 
only  now  what  a  difference!  After  a  few  minutes  she 
would  be  one  of  those  in  the  blocks  of  cells  whom  people 
would  seek  passes  to  see. 

But  this  scene  was  brief.  In  a  minute,  Black  Jerry 
and  Casey  still  behind  her,  she  was  being  guided  through 
a  dark  corridor,  heavy  with  the  damp  odor  of  tens  of 
thousands  of  prisoners  who  had  come  and  gone,  and  at 
length  she  was  ushered  with  her  little  party  into  that 
same  bare  counsel's  room  where  she  had  before  seen 
Harry,  and  the  grilled  doors  clanged  behind  her. 

And  there  again,  as  on  that  other  occasion,  stood 
Harry  Edwards.  She  lifted  her  veil,  moved  toward  him 


422  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

—  then  from  sheer  weakness  could  go  no  farther.  As  he 
recognized  her,  his  wasted  face  sagged  with  amazement. 

"Jennie!"  he  cried.  "Jennie  Malone!  My  God  —  I 
thought  you'd  made  your  get-away!" 

Her  voice  could  not  function  for  a  moment,  but  her 
eyes  did.  She  took  in  every  detail  of  him,  seeing  behind 
his  momentary  amazement.  He  was  worn  and  thin  and 
haggard,  and  despite  his  only  being  in  his  mid- twenties 
there  were  a  few  gray  hairs  —  for  Harry  Edwards  had 
lived  long  with  the  knowledge  of  what  was  to  be  his  fate. 
And  yet  he  was  erect  and  palely  defiant. 

"Jennie,"  he  repeated,  "I  thought  you'd  made  your 
get-away!  My  God  —  what  are  you  doing  here?" 

"I've  given  myself  up,"  she  whispered. 

"  Given  yourself  up !    What  for?" 

"She  could  have  made  her  get-away,"  Uncle  George 
put  in  from  the  background.  "  Everything  was  all  ready 

—  there  would  n't  have  been  a  slip." 

"But,  Jennie  —  what  for?"  repeated  Harry. 

"I  just  —  just  learned  to-day,"  her  thin  voice  an- 
swered, "what  was  about  to  happen  to  you  —  and  — 
and,  Harry,  I  could  n't  let  that  happen  to  you." 

"You  mean  you've  given  yourself  up  to  save  me?" 

She  did  not  answer. 

"I  won't  have  it!"  he  cried  fiercely.  "I  won't  have 
you  do  that  for  me.  For  God's  sake"  —  to  the  others  — 
"get  her  out  of  this  somehow  —  quick!" 

"It's  too  late,"  returned  Jennie,  a  little  more  body 
coming  into  her  tone.  "I'm  already  Officer  Casey's 
prisoner." 

She  moved  a  step  nearer  him.  "  I  Ve  come  to  see  you, 
Harry,  because  I  wanted  you  to  know  straight  oft"  that 
everything  was  going  to  be  all  right  with  you  —  and 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  423 

because  this  was  the  only  way  I  'd  probably  ever  have 
of  seeing  you  alone." 

"Jennie!"  he  breathed  huskily. 

"And  I  wanted  to  see  you  because  I  wanted  to  tell 
you  that  I  know  now  that  you  were  right  in  everything 
you've  said  in  the  past.  Right  about  me,  and  right 
about  —  about  other  people.  Right  in  everything  ex- 
cept about  Conway." 

"Heaven  knows  I  was  wrong  about  Sam  Conway!" 
And  then  explosively:  "But,  Jennie,  why  did  you  ever 
forge  that  check  that  got  you  into  this  trouble?" 

"That  did  n't  happen  at  all,  Harry,  the  way  it's  been 
told  to  the  public.  But  then  I  can  never  prove  anything 
else.  They  have  everything  on  their  side." 

"You  mean  Kenneth  Harrison  has  double-crossed 
you  in  some  way?" 

"  What's  the  use  saying  anything,  Harry?  I  can  never 
prove  anything." 

"Then  he  has  —  the  damned  hound!"  Harry  cried 
furiously. 

•She  did  not  speak  again  for  a  moment.  Then  she  held 
out  her  hand.  "That's  all,  Harry.  I  Ve  got  to  go  with 
Mr.  Casey  now.  And  if  I  don't  see  you  again,  Harry  — 
I'll  always  be  wishing  you  the  best  of  luck!" 

"Jennie!"  he  cried  huskily,  "Jennie!" 

For  a  moment  they  held  hands,  eyes  into  eyes.  Per- 
haps the  eyes  of  Jennie's  soul  had,  without  her  knowl- 
edge, really  been  opening  ere  this  —  but,  at  any  rate, 
they  were  open  now.  And  she  saw  Harry  as  she  had 
never  truly  seen  him  before:  as  fine  and  sincere  and 
courageous  and  high-minded  and  steadfast  —  perhaps 
reckless  at  times  —  but  always  steadfast.  And  for  an  in- 
stant she  thought  of  the  man  she  had  married :  she  saw 


424  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

him  in  that  last  scene,  his  handsome  face  white,  twitch- 
ing, weak,  as  he  had  cast  her  overboard  with  lies  that 
he  might  remain  afloat.  What  a  contrast! 

It  was  then  that  Jennie  realized  the  vastness  of  the 
mistake  she  had  made  —  that  her  heart  had  always  been 
more  with  Harry  than  with  any  other  man.  And  yet 
she  had  deliberately  cast  Harry  aside  for  —  for  that 
which  she  had  got!  Her  soul  cried  out  in  its  hopeless 
agony,  but  her  eyes  held  only  a  few  very  quiet  tears. 

"Good-bye,  Harry,"  she  whispered  again. 

"Good-bye,  Jennie!"  he  breathed. 

She  withdrew  her  hand  and  went  slowly  out  of  the 
room. 

She  had  supposed  that,  of  course,  she  would  be  put 
immediately  into  a  cell  —  but  Uncle  George  had  ar- 
ranged many  things  over  the  telephone  at  the  Martha 
Washington  which  she  had  not  understood.  Their 
course  led  them  through  an  enclosed  passage  high-swung 
above  the  street  —  not  till  afterwards  did  she  know 
that  she  had  passed  through  the  Bridge  of  Sighs  —  and 
finally  brought  them  out  upon  a  stone-paved  balcony  of 
a  big  building  which  had  a  wide  rotunda  reaching  up 
from  the  marble-paved  first  floor  to  the  sky-lit  roof :  the 
Criminal  Courts  Building  she  was  later  to  remember  it 
to  be.  The  little  party  was  shot  up  a  few  floors  in  an 
elevator,  and  after  a  minute  she  was  in  a  comfortably 
furnished  office,  on  a  leather-covered  couch  with  her 
father's  arm  about  her,  talking  to  a  tired-looking  man 
introduced  to  her  as  the  District  Attorney. 

She  was  just  a  little  surprised  —  not  knowing  how 
thorough  Uncle  George  had  been  in  his  telephoning  — 
to  find  two  other  persons  waiting  in  the  District  At- 
torney's office:  the  little,  wizened,  furtive  elevator-mar 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  425 

who  had  carried  her  to  that  secluded  bower  on  the 
Grantham  roof  the  night  she  had  met  Harry  there,  and 
also  the  waiter  who  had  served  them.  She  answered  the 
District  Attorney's  questions  with  feverish  eagerness 
—  she  had  no  greater  desire  just  now  than  to  clear 
Harry;  and  she  did  not  spare  herself  in  exposing  the 
selfish  reasons  which  had  kept  her  silent  all  this  while. 
And  after  she  had  finished,  her  statements  were  corrob- 
orated and  supplemented  by  the  little  elevator-man, 
by  the  waiter,  and  by  Uncle  George,  who  at  last  had 
been  freed  to  tell  what  he  knew. 

The  District  Attorney  gave  an  order  to  an  attend- 
ant, then  closed  his  eyes  in  thought,  and  there  was  a 
long  hush  —  then  Harry  Edwards  was  brought  in  under 
guard.  There  were  no  longer  reasons  for  his  silence, 
and  he  likewise  told  of  being  on  the  Grantham  roof, 
and  he  also  told  of  Sam  Conway's  frenzied  appeal  to 
him  that  far-gone  night  of  the  murder  and  of  their  secret 
meeting  in  Conway's  inner  office. 

The  District  Attorney  was  a  relentless  prosecutor  in 
the  court-room,  but  he  was  a  very  human  being  out 
of  it. 

"Edwards,"  he  said  briefly,  "it  seems  pretty  thor- 
oughly established  that  you  were  on  the  Grantham 
roof  at  the  time  Murdock  was  killed  —  it  seems  that  you 
have  a  perfect  alibi.  If  this  stands  up  under  further 
examination,  and  I  think  it  will,  I  shall  ask  for  your 
dismissal  in  court  to-morrow  morning.  That's  all, 
Edwards." 

As  Harry  was  led  out,  the  District  Attorney  said  in 
a  crisp  voice  to  an  attendant:  "Get  out  papers  for  the 
arrest  of  Sam  Conway  for  the  Murdock  murder,  and 
get  him  at  once." 


426  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Then  he  turned  to  Jennie:  his  voice,  though  not  un- 
kind, was  firm  with  official  decision. 

"Of  course  you  understand,  Mrs.  Harrison"  — 
Jennie  shivered  a  little  at  the  use  of  her  married  name 
—  "that  you  are  under  arrest  for  this  Harrison  forgery." 

Jennie  nodded.  Then  she  let  her  head  slip  upon  her 
father's  shoulder.  Black  Jerry  held  her  to  him  in  a 
fierce,  defiant  love.  She  felt  his  great  chest  heaving 
again ;  but  she  had  no  sense  of  what  was  going  on  within 
his  soul  other  than  a  feeling  that  he  loved  her.  She  felt 
herself  a  weak,  broken  creature  —  so  unheroic,  so  un- 
splendid  —  so  pitifully  different  from  all  the  confident 
dreams  she  had  had.  How  she  had  fallen!  —  how  she 
had  disappointed  all  those  who  had  loved  her!  For 
herself  she  did  not  care  very  much.  This  was  the  end. 

Presently  Casey  touched  her  shoulder.  She  rose  sub- 
missively, and  followed  him  back  across  the  Bridge  of 
Sighs. 


CHAPTER  XL 

HOW  BLACK  JERRY  SET  RIGHT  THE  WORLD 

BLACK  JERRY  had  kept  in  the  background  of 
the  various  scenes  since  Jennie  had  driven  up  to 
the  Tombs,  not  merely  because  this  had  been  ad- 
visable, but  because  the  chaos  in  his  soul  knew  no  pur- 
pose, because  he  was  inarticulate.  And  now  that  he  had 
a  few  moments  with  her  in  the  Tombs,  and  a  plan  was 
beginning  to  grow  into  a  dim  shape  out  of  the  chaos,  he 
still  was  almost  wordless. 

"Dad  —  I'm  so  sorry  —  after  all  you've  done  for 
me  —  to  have  disappointed  you  like  this!"  Jennie 
wept. 

"You'd  have  been  all  right  if  it  had  n't  been  for  me!" 
he  said  huskily.  And  despite  the  presence  of  Casey  and 
Uncle  George  and  guards,  he  swept  her  against  his  chest 
and  held  her  in  an  embrace  which  trembled  despite  its 
power.  "You're  all  right,  anyhow  —  you're  my  kid 
just  the  same!" 

After  that  he  pushed  her  from  him,  but  still  held  her 
two  hands.  "Whatever  happens,  Jennie,  just  you  re- 
member that  your  father  at  least  tried  to  give  you  a 
chance.  Good-bye!" 

His  eyes,  with  a  brilliant  strange  look,  clung  to  her 
face  in  fierce  pain  and  love  —  as  though  he  would  keep 
her  with  him  always.  Then  he  pressed  a  swift,  crushing 
kiss  upon  her  lips  and  abruptly  walked  away.  "  Dad  — 
dad!"  Jennie  called  after  him,  but  he  did  not  so  much 
as  look  back  upon  her.  And  when  Uncle  George  started 
to  leave  with  him,  Jerry  roughly  told  his  old  friend  he 


428  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

wanted  nobody's  company,  and  he  strode  out  of  the 
Tombs  alone. 

Fifteen  minutes  later  Black  Jerry  was  in  the  little 
room  at  the  rear  of  the  Pekin,  his  office,  where  so  many 
phases  of  Jennie's  life  had  been  determined.  The  door 
was  locked,  his  elbows  were  on  the  table,  and  his  hands 
were  gripping  his  thick  dark  hair.  Grief,  love,  a  sense 
of  complete  failure,  hatred,  revenge,  surged  in  a  wild 
tumult  in  his  soul.  He  had  always  been  a  primitive  ele- 
mental man,  and  never  in  all  his  life  —  not  even  in  the 
long  ago  when  Jennie's  mother  had  left  him  —  had  his 
few  elements  dominated  him  so  violently  as  in  this  soli- 
tary hour. 

He  had  dreamed  great  dreams  for  Jennie  —  and  they 
had  failed  —  utterly  failed.  In  his  present  dark  mood, 
in  which  he  could  not  see  values  in  their  right  propor- 
tions, he  did  not  spare  himself.  Jennie  had  come  to  her 
present  pass  largely  because  of  him,  his  position  in  life, 
the  name  he  had  borne.  He  recalled  with  electric  vivid- 
ness the  words  of  the  judge  that  night  when  the  girlish 
Jennie  had  been  on  trial  —  how  the  judge  had  said  that 
a  girl  could  have  no  chance  in  life  who  had  a  man  like 
the  notorious  Black  Jerry  for  a  father.  And  that  was 
true  —  every  word  of  it  true !  He  had  tried  to  help  her, 
but  he  had  been  to  her  only  a  fatal  burden.  Except  for 
him,  and  the  heritage  of  his  dark  name,  it  would  never 
have  been  necessary  for  her  to  have  assumed  a  new  per- 
sonality. And  even  so,  except  for  him,  she  would  not 
now  be  in  her  extreme  predicament :  the  charges  against 
her  would  probably  count  for  little,  might  indeed  never 
have  been  made,  had  the  Harrisons  not  been  able  to 
point  to  her  record  —  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  the 
notorious  Black  Jerry  Malone,  that  she  had  once  before 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  429 

been  on  trial  for  forgery.  And  for  all  her  early  misdeeds 
Jerry  held  himself  blamable:  through  all  her  childhood 
he  had  never  given  her  right  care. 

Yes,  he  had  always  been  a  handicap  upon  her.  It 
would  have  been  far,  far  better  for  her  if  she  had  never 
had  him  for  a  father  —  or,  at  least,  with  his  being  her 
father,  better  that  she  might  have  grown  up  and  lived 
without  ever  being  under  the  ignominy  of  his  name. 
And  he  saw  himself  in  the  future  —  whatever  her  future 
might  be  —  as  being  a  handicap.  So  long  as  he  lived, 
so  long  as  his  name  was  remembered,  she  would  be 
known  as  "Black  Jerry's  daughter,"  and  forever  he 
would  be  dragging  her  down ! 

Black  Jerry  may  not  have  been  judging  truly,  but  in 
this  dark  orgasm  of  his  soul  this  is  how  he  reasoned, 
how  his  whole  being  reacted  and  functioned.  .  .  . 

And  Slim  Jackson,  who  had  betrayed  her,  and  Ken- 
neth Harrison,  who  had  begged  her  to  commit  this  for- 
gery to  save  him  and  then  had  thrown  the  whole  blame 
upon  her  —  his  whole  being  was  clenched  with  an  over- 
mastering desire  for  vengeance  upon  these  two!  For 
vengeance  —  and  something  more.  .  .  .  His  passions 
did  not  subside,  but  his  brain  became  more  composed 
and  began  to  work  carefully,  constructively,  remorse- 
lessly. 

For  an  hour  he  sat  thinking  —  thinking  with  a  care 
and  an  intensity  with  which  he  had  never  thought  be- 
fore. For  this  plan  he  was  shaping  was  the  supreme 
plan  of  Black  Jerry's  life. 

Shortly  after  six  he  relaxed.  He  had  thought  out 
everything.  He  carefully  WTOte  out  three  brief  messages. 
Then  he  wrote  a  short  note  to  Jennie,  stepped  out  to  his 
bar,  and  handed  it  to  his  bar-tender.  "Bill,"  he  said, 


430  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

in  an  even  voice,  "  I  'm  going  out  and  may  not  be  back 
for  a  day  or  so.  Get  word  to  Uncle  George  to  come  by 
this  way  in  the  morning  and  ask  him  to  take  this  to 
Jennie  down  at  the  Tombs." 

He  mounted  to  his  apartment,  in  which  he  had  lived 
the  solitary  life  of  a  bachelor  these  many  years,  and 
locked  the  door.  Then  very  carefully  he  drew  down 
every  blind.  After  that  he  took  off  his  suit,  so  old  that 
it  was  familiar  to  all  his  friends ;  he  removed  every  gar- 
ment in  which  he  had  been  seen  that  afternoon ;  even 
the  socks  and  shoes.  These  he  made  into  a  flat,  compact 
parcel.  Then  he  dressed  very  lightly  in  quite  other 
clothes,  omitting  coat  and  vest,  and  slipped  on  a  long 
raincoat  —  for  fortunate  for  his  purpose  a  drizzling  rain 
had  begun  to  fall.  And  then,  last  of  all,  he  shoved  an 
automatic  into  his  hip  pocket.  This  last  act  he  did  some- 
what awkwardly,  for  this  was  the  first  time  in  over  fif- 
teen years  that  Black  Jerry  had  had  arms  upon  his 
person. 

With  the  flat  parcel  under  his  raincoat  he  went  down 
into  the  street.  Since  he  wore  the  black  derby  he  had 
worn  all  day,  none  who  knew  him  and  saw  him  wrould 
suspect  that  he  was  dressed  in  other  than  the  blue  serge 
which  was  his  invariable  wear.  First  he  went  to  a  drug- 
store in  which  there  was  a  public  telephone  in  a  booth. 
He  was  certain  both  Kenneth  and  Slim  Jackson  were 
then  in  the  city,  and  he  was  almost  certain  where  each 
was  to  be  located  at  this  hour;  but  this  knowledge  he 
verified  by  the  discreet  use  of  the  telephone. 

Black  Jerry  had  these  many,  many  years  been  law- 
abiding,  at  least  in  the  technical  sense  of  the  laws  and 
as  he  understood  them;  but  he  had  many  friends  in 
what  is  called  the  underworld,  who  were  loyal  to  him 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  431 

and  who  had  profound  reason  to  be.  He  made  his  way 
to  a  pawnshop ;  it  was  an  indubitable  pawnshop  —  but 
also  it  was  other  things. 

"Joe,"  he  said  to  the  old  proprietor  when  they  were 
safe  in  the  latter's  back  room,  "  I  want  you  to  send  out 
one  message  and  two  telegrams  for  me.  It's  up  to  you 
to  get  'em  out  so  they  can  never  afterwards  be  traced 
as  being  anything  except  perfectly  straight.  It's  part 
of  your  business  to  know  how  to  do  such  things  —  so 
I  'm  not  going  to  give  you  any  advice.  Take  a  pencil 
and  I  '11  read  the  stuff  off  to  you." 

The  first  was  a  message  to  the  captain  of  the  Myra, 
the  Harrisons'  yacht,  which  Jerry  knew  to  be  now  at 
anchor  in  the  Hudson  River.  From  the  vindictive  Doris 
Dorraine  he  had  learned  that  there  were  frequent  and 
very  private  sessions  of  merriment  on  board  the  Myra 
of  nights  —  and  that  prior  to  such  events  the  captain 
and  all  the  crew  wrere  given  shore  leave.  So  this  first 
message  was  an  order,  in  Kenneth's  name,  to  the  cap- 
tain for  all  on  board  to  absent  themselves  at  once. 

The  second  message  was  a  telegram  to  Slim  Jackson, 
so  worded  as  to  be  of  such  veiled  importance  as  would 
make  certain  Slim's  obedience,  asking  him  to  be  on  the 
Myra  at  nine  that  evening.  This  telegram  bore  Ken- 
neth's name. 

The  third  message  was  to  Kenneth,  bore  the  signa- 
ture of  Slim  Jackson  and  was  in  substance  a  duplicate 
of  the  other.  Jerry  had  made  the  hour  as  early  as  nine 
so  that  there  would  hardly  be  time  for  the  two  to  com- 
municate with  each  other.  He  believed,  moreover,  that 
the  veiled  importance  he  had  put  into  the  messages 
would  bring  about  the  unsuspecting  compliance  of  both 
men. 


432  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

This  task  attended  to  (and  he  knew  the  business 
would  be  done  well),  Jerry  went  out  of  the  pawnshop. 
The  July  rain  was  now  falling  steadily.  This  kept 
the  people  off  the  streets  —  which  was  also  fortunate; 
further,  the  heavy  sky  made  the  streets  darker  than 
they  otherwise  would  have  been  —  which  again  was 
fortunate.  Jerry  strode  through  the  deserted  gloom 
until  he  came  to  the  East  River.  He  had  selected  in  his 
mind  a  certain  pier  for  his  purpose;  and  watching  his 
chance  he  got  out  upon  it  without  attracting  attention. 
At  the  extreme  end  he  paused  and  drew  the  packet  from 
beneath  his  raincoat.  The  cord  and  paper  he  threw 
down  into  the  rain-hissing  water;  the  clothes  he  ar- 
ranged in  careful  disarray  behind  four  huge  stanchions 
where  they  would  not  be  found  until  morning. 

Three  quarters  of  an  hour  later  he  was  uptown  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  city,  close  to  the  Manhattan  Yacht 
Club.  He  waited  in  the  darkness,  for  he  knew  that  the 
men  from  the  Myra  would  land  here. 

He  had  not  been  there  more  than  five  minutes  when 
a  boat  drew  up  alongside  the  end  of  the  club  float  near- 
est him,  and  four  figures  stepped  out,  made  the  boat  fast 
and  disappeared.  He  was  sure  that  these  were  the 
Myra's  crew,  but  he  waited  until  the  stern  of  the  boat 
swung  around  toward  him;  the  light  from  the  club- 
house was  dim,  but  he  could  clearly  spell  out  M-Y-R-A. 
He  now  had  no  doubt,  and  he  carefully  pushed  out  from 
shore  in  a  small  rowboat  he  had  commandeered. 

Ten  minutes  later  he  stepped  on  the  deck  of  the  Myra, 
and  made  fast  his  boat  to  the  ladder.  He  made  a  cau- 
tious and  swift  round  of  the  yacht.  Not  a  soul  was  on 
board  —  just  as  he  had  counted.  Returning,  he  untied 
the  painter  of  his  stolen  boat  and  cast  it  loose  upon  the 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  433 

outgoing  tide;  then  he  took  off  his  shoes,  and  dropped 
them  overboard.  After  that  he  crouched  in  the  black 
shadows  of  the  port  of  the  cabin  and  waited. 

Another  ten  minutes  passed,  and  then  a  rowboat 
softly  bumped  the  Myra's  side,  and  Slim  Jackson 
stepped  upon  the  deck.  At  once  the  boat  pushed  off 
and  slipped  back  toward  the  shore.  Slim  went  down  the 
companionway  into  the  cabin,  called  for  the  steward, 
and  getting  no  answer,  threw  off  his  raincoat  and  van- 
ished into  the  galley,  reappearing  a  moment  later  with 
a  half-bottle  of  champagne.  He  drew  the  cork,  seated 
himself  at  the  cabin  table,  and  drank  leisurely. 

Presently  another  boat  bumped  the  yacht's  side,  dis- 
charged a  passenger,  and  made  back  for  the  shore.  The 
instant  Kenneth  went  down  the  companionway,  Black 
Jerry  threw  his  derby  hat  far  out  into  the  water,  and 
slipped  off  his  raincoat  and  tossed  it  likewise  over  into 
the  tide,  which  might  carry  it  a  dozen  miles  —  perhaps 
a  hundred  —  from  where  the  Myra  lay  at  anchor.  He 
now  stood  in  shirt  and  belted  trousers.  While  he  had 
waited  he  had  drawn  on  a  pair  of  delicately  thin  rubber 
gloves  such  as  surgeons  wear;  they  had  his  finger  prints 
down  at  Police  Headquarters,  and  he  wished  to  leave 
behind  no  slightest  proof  that  he  had  been  on  board 
that  night. 

"Hello,  Kenneth,"  he  heard  Slim  drawl  as  Kenneth 
threw  off  his  raincoat.  "That  was  a  queer  stunt,  Jen- 
nie's giving  herself  up  to-day." 

"It  certainly  was,"  replied  Kenneth.  "I  thought  she 
was  out  of  the  country." 

"Do  you  think  it  may  get  us  in  bad?  I  suppose  you 
wanted  a  business  talk  —  that 's  why  you  sent  that  tele- 
gram to  me?" 


434  *A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"What  are  you  talking  about?"  exclaimed  Kenneth. 
"I  never  sent  any  telegram  to  you.  I'm  here  because 
of  one  you  sent  me." 

"One  I  sent  you!"  Slim  sprang  to  his  feet.  "I  never 
sent  you  one  —  you  never  sent  me  one  —  Kenneth, 
there's  something  crooked  here!" 

"There  sure  is,"  agreed  Jerry's  heavy  voice  as  he 
stepped  through  the  cabin  doonvay. 

The  two  men  whirled  about  upon  him.  "Black 
Jerry!"  ejaculated  Slim  Jackson. 

Black  Jerry  closed  the  cabin  door,  and  bareheaded, 
open- throated,  huge  and  menacing,  he  stood  motionless 
glaring  at  the  two  men.  They  had  drawn  back  a  pace 
at  his  sudden  entrance. 

"Well,  Jerry,  what's  the  great  idea?"  Slim  tried  to 
speak  with  his  usual  nonchalance. 

Jerry's  emotions  did  not  allow  him  to  answer  at  once. 
When  he  spoke,  he  spoke  with  husky  savageness.  "The 
great  idea  is  that  us  three  have  something  to  talk  over. 
And  first  thing,  you  two  guys  are  to  sit  down  at  that 
table." 

The  two  men  did  not  at  once  comply.  "Sit  down! " 
growled  Jerry,  advancing  toward  them.  At  his  glower- 
ing approach,  Slim  Jackson  whipped  from  somewhere 
within  his  perfect  evening  dress  a  small  automatic.  But 
before  he  could  level  it,  Black  Jerry  had  sprung,  for 
Jerry  had  foreseen  the  possibility  of  this  action.  Jerry's 
great  hand  clutched  Slim's  wrist,  there  was  an  in- 
stant's struggle,  then  the  automatic  was  Jerry's,  and 
as  he  sent  Slim  spinning  across  the  cabin  he  turned  on 
Kenneth. 

"Put  up  your  hands  —  you  sweet  son-in-law  of 
mine!"  he  commanded  with  his  guttural  fierceness. 


A  Daughter  of  Tivo  Worlds  435 

Very  pale,  Kenneth  put  them  up.  Jerry  slapped  his 
pockets,  and  drew  out  another  pistol. 

"So  —  you  were  expecting  trouble,"  Jerry  com- 
mented. ' '  Sit  down,  both  of  you ! " 

Black  Jerry  took  a  chair  across  the  table  from  the  two, 
and  fixed  them  with  his  blazing  eyes. 

"Now  we're  going  to  have  a  little  talk,  us  three  — 
quiet;  out  here  no  one  can  hear  us  or  disturb  us.  And 
what  we're  going  to  talk  about  is  this:  you  two  got  my 
Jennie  into  this  mess  —  it 's  up  to  you  to  get  her  out 
clean." 

"But  I  have  n't  done  anything,  Jerry,  to  get  Jennie 
into  a  mess,"  objected  Slim. 

"You  lie!  You  haven't  done  just  what  my  sweet 
son-in-law  has  done,  but  you're  guilty  as  hell!"  He 
shifted  his  glittering  eyes  back  to  Kenneth.  "You  there 
—  you  get  some  of  this  ship's  fancy  writing-paper  from 
that  rack  over  there,  and  bring  ink  and  a  pen." 

Kenneth  hesitated.  But  Jerry's  gaze  was  compelling. 
Kenneth  obeyed  and  came  back  to  his  chair  with  pen, 
ink,  and  thick  paper  embossed  with  the  emblem  of  the 
Manhattan  Yacht  Club  and  with  the  Myra's  name. 

"Now,  write,"  Jerry  commanded.  "I  am  going  to 
tell  you  what  to  say,  but  it's  up  to  you  to  put  it  into 
good  language.  You  write  that  the  two  of  you  realize 
that  the  police  are  closing  in  on  you  — " 

Kenneth,  who  had  started  to  write,  looked  up. 
"Police  closing  in  on  us?  What  for?" 

"For  that  Myrtle  Freeman  disappearance."  Ken- 
neth's blanched  lips  twitched  at  this.  "You  see,"  Jerry 
explained  grimly,  "Doris  Dorraine  has  spilled  every- 
thing she  knows  about  you  two,  and  I  Ve  handed  it  on 
to  a  copper  friend  of  mine.  You  may  not  understand 


43 1>  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

that  sentence  about  the  coppers  closing  in  on  you  —  but 
the  coppers  will  understand.  So  you  get  busy  with 
your  pen." 

Black  Jerry  continued,  with  pauses  to  permit  the 
writing.  "You  put  that  down  about  you  two  realizing 
that  the  police  are  closing  in  on  you  .  .  .  you  say  that 
you  know  you  have  no  chance  and  you  realize  what 
is  before  you  .  .  .  that  you  can't  stand  this  thing  any 
longer  .  .  .  but  that  before  you  do  what  you  intend  to 
do  ..." 

This  time  it  was  Slim  who  interrupted.  "What  we 
intend  to  do!  What's  that?  " 

"You  let  him  write  ahead!"  Jerry  ordered  fiercely. 

"I'll  not  do  it!"  cried  Kenneth,  flinging  down  his 
pen.  "I  get  your  idea!  This  is  a  confession  you  are 
forcing  out  of  us  —  a  confession  you'll  take  charge 
of!" 

"  You  bet  I  '11  take  charge  of  it!  And  you '11  write  just 
what  I  say!" 

One  of  the  automatics  came  up  and  directed  itself 
straight  into  Kenneth's  eyes.  His  eyes  wavered,  turned 
for  aid  to  Slim  Jackson,  and  caught  a  swift,  meaning 
look.  Jerry  also  caught  that  look  and  knew  what  it 
conveyed:  that  it  would  be  easy  enough  for  them  to 
repudiate  the  confession  as  a  document  forced  out  of 
them  by  threats,  even  if  Jerry  finally  did  obtain  posses- 
sion of  it  —  that  their  word  would  count  as  everything 
against  the  discredited  Black  Jerry  M alone. 

Kenneth  picked  up  his  pen.  "What  else  is  there  to 
it?" 

"You  write  this:  'Under  these  conditions,  we  want 
at  least  to  clear  all  innocent  parties.  ...  I,  Kenneth 
Harrison,  declare  that  I  have  lied  about  my  wife.  .  .  . 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  437 

That  I  stole  money  from  the  Shipman  firm,  that  I  was 
about  to  be  found  out,  that  I  begged  my  wife  to  forge 
that  check  to  save  me.  .  .  .  She  forged  it  only  because 
I  asked  her  to,  in  order  to  save  me,  and  she  never  got 
a  penny  of  the  money.  ...  I  am  really  the  only  guilty 
person.  ...  My  father  knows  these  to  be  the  facts,  and 
I  ask  him  to  testify  to  them.'  That's  all  you  need  to 
say,  Harrison.  Now,  just  sign  your  name  on  the  dotted 
line." 

Kenneth  did  as  ordered.  With  the  barrel  of  his  auto- 
matic Jerry  pushed  the  sheet  over  in  front  of  Slim  Jack- 
son. 

"Your  turn,  Slim.  There  won't  be  much  for  you  to 
write,  so  there  will  be  room  on  the  .same  sheet  of  paper. 
Get  ready." 

Slim  dipped  the  pen. 

"You  write  that  you  always  were  a  crook  even  long 
ago  when  you  used  to  work  in  Jerry  Malone's  joint.  .  .  . 
Write  that  you  learned  that  Jennie  M alone  was  clever 
with  her  pen,  and  that  you  put  her  up  to  forging,  you  man- 
aging everything  except  the  signing  of  the  checks.  .  .  . 
Write  that  that  Morrison  check,  for  which  she  was  ar- 
rested five  or  six  years  ago,  was  the  same  as  the  others 
—  that  you,  besides  putting  her  up  to  it,  did  all  the 
crooked  work  except  signing  the  check.  .  .  .  Write  that 
you  asked  her  to  take  all  the  blame  in  court,  so's  you'd 
be  kept  out  of  it,  and  write  that  she  done  just  what 
you  asked.  .  .  .  That's  all  for  you,  Slim  Jackson,  except 
signing  on  the  dotted  line." 

Slim  attached  his  signature.  He  clearly  saw  a  way  of 
making  all  this  worth  less  than  nothing. 

Keeping  the  pair  covered  with  his  automatic,  Black 
Jerry,  with  his  rubber-gloved  hand,  picked  up  the 


438  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

confession  and  read  it  carefully.  Then  he  pushed  it 
back  to  Kenneth. 

"Address  an  envelope  to  the  District  Attorney  of 
New  York  County,"  he  ordered,  "and  write  on  it, 
'Immediate.'"  Kenneth  complied.  "Now,  fold  that 
paper,  put  it  in  the  envelope,  seal  it,  and  put  it  in  the 
center  of  this  table." 

"Now  that  you've  got  it,  Jerry,"  said  Slim,  trying  to 
speak  nonchalantly,  "what's  your  next  pleasant  little 
order?" 

Jerry  rose  from  the  table.  He  was  going  forward  with 
his  plan  grimly,  heavily,  almost  mechanically. 

"Next  you  two  stand  up,"  he  ordered. 

"But  what's  the  idea?"  Slim  protested.  "Where  do 
we  go  from  here?" 

' '  That 's  what  I  'm  going  to  tell  you .  Stand  up ! "  The 
two  men  obeyed.  "Now,  back  up  against  the  wall,  while 
you  listen  to  a  few  things." 

They  went  backward  until  their  shoulders  were 
against  the  mahogany  paneling.  Jerry  faced  them, 
Slim's  automatic  in  one  hand,  Kenneth's  automatic 
thrust  into  the  front  of  his  trousers.  More  poignantly 
than  ever  before  he  thought  of  Jennie,  of  the  sorry  end  of 
his  dreams  and  long  planning  for  her;  and  in  his  sub- 
conscious mind  were  also  those  things  of  which  Doris 
Dorraine  had  told  him  —  things  which  had  wrecked 
other  lives.  All  that  men  had  called  primitive,  brutal, 
unmoral,  surged  up  in  him  to  a  climax  of  fury  —  all 
that  was  remorseless. 

"Slim  Jackson,"  he  gritted,  "you've  always  been  a 
liar  and  a  crook  and  every  damned  rotten  thing  there  is. 
If  it  had  n't  been  for  you,  my  Jennie  would  have  made 
good!  You  deserve  the  worst  the  State  can  give  you, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  439 

but  you're  too  smooth  ever  to  get  caught.  But,  Slim, 
you're  not  so  clever  that  I  did  n't  guess  what  was  pass- 
ing in  your  head.  Don't  you  suppose  I  understand  that 
if  you  get  away  now,  that  confession  won't  help  Jennie 
a  damn?  So  you  're  not  going  to  get  away !  I  'm  going  to 
save  Jennie !  I  'm  going  to  do  what  the  State  ought  —  " 

Slim  lunged  swiftly  at  him,  but  Jerry,  on  the  alert, 
caught  him  in  a  great  hand  that  closed  upon  shirt  front 
and  coat  lapels,  at  the  same  time  covering  Kenneth 
with  his  weapon.  "  I  'd  like  to  choke  you,  Slim  Jackson," 
Jerry  gritted  on,  "only  I  don't  want  any  finger  marks 
on  your  throat.  You  're  a  rat,  damn  you  —  and  you  're 
going  to  have  a  rat's  finish!" 

So  swiftly  that  Slim  could  not  raise  a  warding  hand, 
Jerry  flashed  Slim's  automatic  from  Kenneth  and 
pressed  it  against  Slim's  right  temple.  There  was  a 
sharp  explosion  and  Slim  Jackson  slumped  to  the  floor. 
The  automatic  fell  beside  him,  and  the  next  instant  the 
second  pistol  —  it  was  Kenneth's  —  was  in  Jerry's  hand 
and  was  covering  the  shrinking  Kenneth. 

"For  God's  sake  —  for  God's  sake — "  gasped 
Kenneth. 

But  Jerry  was  at  once  upon  him,  broke  down  the 
frantic,  clawing  hands,  and  thrust  the  automatic  close 
against  his  head.  There  was  another  explosion,  and 
Kenneth  Harrison  pitched  to  the  floor. 

Breathing  mightily,  Jerry  examined  the  two  collapsed 
figures.  Both  were  quite  dead.  The  trickling  wounds 
were  powder-burnt ;  that  was  as  he  had  desired.  He 
moved  each  man's  weapon  close  to  his  right  hand, 
and  arose.  He  felt  no  more  of  compunction  than  if  they 
had  indeed  been  what  he  had  called  them  —  rats.  In 
his  mind  they  more  than  deserved  their  end;  and,  be- 


440  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

sides,  their  death  and  its  manner  were  only  necessary 
details  of  a  far  larger  plan  which  he  hoped  was  coming 
out  all  right. 

He  gave  a  glance  at  the  limp  pair  —  such  admired 
figures  in  their  day !  —  and  then  let  his  eyes  rest  a  mo- 
ment upon  the  packet  on  the  table  addressed  to  the  Dis- 
trict Attorney.  After  that  he  slipped  out  of  the  cabin, 
closed  the  door,  and  made  his  way  to  the  stern. 

Here  he  paused  a  moment,  his  lightly  clad  figure 
beaten  upon  by  the  rain,  and  tossed  overboard  the 
pistol  which  he  had  brought  along  for  use  in  emergency, 
but  which  luckily  he  had  not  had  to  draw.  Already  he 
had  forgotten  what  had  happened  down  in  the  Myra's 
cabin,  and  what  lay  there  awaiting  the  morrow's  dis- 
covery. His  eyes  and  mind  were  directed  into  the  dark 
southeast  where  stood  the  Tombs. 

His  lips  parted  in  a  husky,  broken  whisper:  "Jennie! 
...  I  hope  it  works  out  all  right,  Jennie.  .  .  .  Good- 
bye!" 

He  let  himself  down  into  the  gloomy  water ;  and  upon 
the  bosom  of  the  sea-going  tide,  with  easy,  silent  strokes 
that  had  a  tremendous  reserve  of  power,  Black  Jerry 
swam  away  through  the  darkness  .  .  .  out  into  the 
unknown.  . . . 


CHAPTER  XLI 

THE  NEXT  DAY 

JENNIE  slept  hardly  at  all  in  the  cell  to  which 
Casey  and  a  keeper  had  led  her.  Bail  had  not  been 
secured  because  of  technical  difficulties,  and  she 
had  begged  Uncle  George  not  to  bother  about  her.  The 
night  was  a  night  of  self-assessment,  of  humiliation. 
Morning  found  her  still  in  the  same  low  spirits.  She 
had  made  a  sad,  sad  mess  of  her  life  and  of  the  lives 
of  those  who  had  really  cared  for  her.  Yes,  she  was 
a  broken,  futile  thing. 

She  had  refused  to  see  reporters,  but  toward  half- 
past  ten  there  came  a  summons  which  she  could  not 
have  refused  even  had  she  so  desired.  She  was  led  across 
the  Bridge  of  Sighs  and  into  a  court-room,  where  she 
repeated  before  judge  and  jury  the  story  she  had  told 
in  the  District  Attorney's  office  the  evening  before.  Her 
testimony  finished,  she  was  led  back  to  her  cell. 

Almost  at  once  Uncle  George  appeared  outside  her 
bars.  After  they  had  greeted  each  other,  he  said  in  a 
hearty  tone  which  he  tried  to  make  inspiring  of  con- 
fidence : 

"Cheer  up,  Jennie;  we're  going  to  find  a  way  out  of 
this!  You've  heard  of  Moses  Aaronson  —  the  best 
lawyer  in  New  York  City  for  a  case  of  this  kind.  He 's 
out  of  town  this  morning,  but  I've  retained  him  by 
wire,  and  he'll  be  here  on  the  job  by  noon.  You  just 
leave  this  to  Aaronson,  and  don't  worry!" 

But  his  encouraging  words  had  no  effect  on  Jennie. 

"Perhaps  you  have  n't  seen  the  morning  papers  yet," 


442  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Uncle  George  went  on,  bent  on  diverting  her.  "I 
brought  them  all  round.  Here  they  are."  He  thrust 
them  through  the  bars.  "I  tell  you  what  —  the  news- 
paper boys  have  certainly  turned  themselves  loose  on 
you  again!" 

Yes,  there  she  was  once  more  on  the  front  pages.  She 
skimmed  one  account  through,  grasping  a  phrase  here 
and  one  there.  The  reporter,  seeking  romance  to  re- 
lieve the  grisly  war  news,  had  left  out  nothing  that 
would  give  color  to  his  story.  The  beautiful  Mrs.  Ken- 
neth Harrison  —  until  a  month  before  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  young  women  in  New  York's  smartest  society 
—  revealed  as  the  daughter  of  Black  Jerry  M alone  — 
a  fugitive  from  the  police  on  the  charge  of  a  gigantic 
forgery  —  gives  herself  up  in  order  to  alibi  an  old 
sweetheart  who  was  about  to  be  sentenced  to  death. 
Jennie  glanced  at  the  other  papers.  Their  stories  were 
much  the  same.  All  were  built  along  the  lines  of  melo- 
drama which  newspapers  believe  their  readers  want  — 
and  perhaps  believe  rightly. 

Yes,  once  again  she  was,  next  to  the  war,  the  supreme 
newspaper  sensation  of  the  day.  She  dropped  the  papers 
indifferently  to  the  floor  of  her  cell.  It  all  meant  nothing 
whatever  to  her  now,  one  way  or  the  other. 

"Well,  anyhow,  here's  something  that  ought  to  cheer 
you  up,"  Uncle  George  said  heartily,  still  bent  on  light- 
ing if  only  for  a  moment  her  darkened  spirit.  "It's  a 
letter  from  your  father.  Guess  Jerry  could  n't  show  up 
this  morning." 

She  took  the  letter  which  Black  Jerry,  as  part  of 
his  great  plan,  had  composed  so  carefully  the  eve- 
ning before  and  left  in  charge  of  his  bar-keeper.  She 
read: 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  443 

DEAR  JENNIE: 

Me  and  my  bad  name  have  been  too  much  of  a  load  for  you 
all  your  life.  I  guess  no  kid  could  have  got  by  with  such  a 
load.  If  it  had  n't  been  for  me,  you'd  have  got  on  O.K. 

It's  going  to  be  just  as  bad  for  you  in  the  future  unless  I 
stop  being  a  load.  So  I  'm  going  to  pass  out.  Don't  worry 
about  me.  I  won't  be  losing  much.  I  don't  care  about  things 
any  more,  except  you,  and  this  is  the  best  way  to  help  you. 

I  guess  it  '11  be  the  river.  That  always  did  seem  to  me  the 
easiest  way  of  passing  out. 

I  hope  luck  breaks  better  for  you  after  I  am  out  of  your 
way. 

Yours 

JERRY  MALONE 

Jennie  collapsed  in  a  heap  upon  the  floor  of  the  cell. 
"Dad!"  she  cried  wildly.  "Dad!" 

"What's  the  matter?"  demanded  Uncle  George. 

For  answer  she  thrust  the  letter  through  the  bars. 
Uncle  George  read,  then  exclaimed  in  awed  amazement: 

"My  God!" 

"He's  —  he's  —  committed  suicide,"  sobbed  Je'nnie, 
"because  he  thought  that  would  help  me!" 

"My  God!"  repeated  Uncle  George.  For  a  moment 
he  stood  silent,  gazing  at  the  sheet  of  note-paper.  Then 
he  said  huskily: 

"Jennie,  for  fifteen  years  and  more  this  town  has  got 
Black  Jerry  all  wrong.  Let  me  take  this  letter  to  show 
to  some  of  the  newspaper  boys.  They  '11  find  out,  any- 
how, what 's  happened  to  him,  and  this  letter  will  help 
set  them  right  as  to  the  sort  of  man  he  really  was.  I  '11 
give  it  back  to  you." 

Jennie  nodded  her  consent.  Uncle  George  wisely  de- 
cided that  this  was  an  occasion  when  Jennie  had  best 
be  left  alone  with  her  grief.  So  remarking,  "As  soon  as 


444  ^  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

Aaronson  shows  up,  we'll  see  to  your  bafr,"  he  stole 
away. 

Left  to  herself,  Jennie  sobbed  on,  convulsively  yet 
silently.  She  now  saw  and  understood  as  never  before 
what  she  had  meant  to  her  father.  Always  he  had  loved 
her,  always  he  had  thought  of  her  and  planned  for  her! 
And  now  at  the  end,  when  the  crash  had  come,  he 
had  given  up  his  life  for  her,  because  he  h-  1  believed 
this  would  make  her  life  easier ! 

What  a  failure  she  had  made  of  her  life!  How  she 
had  involved  all  those  who  had  loved  her  best  in  dis- 
aster and  ruin!  She  had  probably  saved  Harry,  yes;  but 
she  had  only  come  to  his  rescue  after  she  had  lost  her 
great  world  —  what  a  miserable  performance !  .  .  . 

Toward  one  o'clock  the  raucous  cries  of  newsboys 
penetrated  even  to  the  inner  fastness  of  her  cell;  but 
these  cries  did  not  for  an  instant  divert  her  mind  from 
her  misery.  But  a  little  later  Uncle  George  appeared 
again  —  and  it  was  now  a  very  excited  Uncle  George, 
indeed,  who  stood  on  the  other  side  of  the  bars. 

"Have  seen  Aaronson,  and  he's  working  like  the 
dickens  on  your  case,"  he  announced. 

This  did  not  interest  Jennie  in  the  least. 

"And  Harry,  on  motion  of  the  District  Attorney,  has 
been  acquitted." 

"  I'm  glad,"  she  said  simply. 

"And  what  your  father  said  he'd  do  in  his  letter,  he 
did  all  right,"  Uncle  George  continued.  "They  found 
his  clothes  over  on  the  end  of  an  East  River  dock  that 
he  jumped  from.  It's  all  in  the  afternoon  papers.  His 
body  has  n't  been  found  yet  —  maybe  never  will  be,  for 
those  East  River  tides  are  terrific.  And  that  letter  he 
wrote  you,  it  went  great  with  the  newspaper  boys.  The 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  445 

boys  thought  Jerry  must  have  been  half-cracked,  but 
that  letter  got  right  to  them.  For  once  in  his  life  the 
newspapers  have  treated  Jerry  white." 

"Dad,  I 'm  so  glad  —  so  glad!"  Jennie  sobbed. 

"But  none  of  that  is  the  real  news!"  exclaimed 
Uncle  George.  "Listen,  Jennie.  No,  read  it  for  your- 
self. Here's  an  extra  that  will  tell  you  all  about  it." 

Jennie  ti»  k  the  paper.  There  was  a  huge  black  double 
headline  across  the  entire  top  of  the  front  page,  with 
headlines  of  lesser  degree,  announcing  the  double  suicide 
of  the  prominent  young  financier  Kenneth  Harrison,  and 
of  the  great  stage  favorite  Jackson  Holt,  on  board  the 
former's  yacht.  The  captain,  the  hastily  written  account 
stated,  had  received  an  order  the  evening  before  to  with- 
draw with  the  crew  from  the  Myra  for  the  night  —  an 
order  such  as  frequently  came  to  him.  On  his  return  to 
the  Myra  that  morning  at  eleven  o'clock,  he  had  discov- 
ered the  two  dead  men  in  the  cabin,  and  had  at  once 
sent  for  the  police.  Two  automatics  had  been  found, 
one  shell  discharged  from  each.  The  police  had  declared 
them  indubitable  cases  of  suicide ;  there  were  no  signs  of 
death  from  any  other  possible  cause.  A  sealed  envelope 
had  been  found  on  the  cabin  table  addressed  to  the  Dis- 
trict Attorney  of  New  York  County,  which  had  been 
taken  straight  to  the  District  Attorney.  This  letter 
might  throw  light  upon  the  self-inflicted  deaths  of  the 
two  men. 

Jennie  looked  up  from  the  sensational  account.  She 
drew  a  long,  bewildered  breath.  Her  husband  dead  — 
Slim  Jackson  dead!  She  did  not  say  this  to  herself  con- 
sciously, but  even  more  than  ever  did  she  have  a  sense 
that  the  drama  of  her  life  was  moving  fast  that  day  and 
was  crowded  with  high  incident  —  and  yet  she  herself 


-446  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

was  only  an  off-stage  figure,  who  neither  willed  any- 
thing nor  did  anything. 

"I  wonder  what  can  be  in  that  letter  to  the  District 
Attorney?"  she  breathed  at  length. 

"I  wonder,  too,"  said  Uncle  George.  "I  stopped  in 
at  the  District  Attorney's  office,  and  learned  he  had 
sent  for  Kenneth  Harrison's  father." 

After  Uncle  George  had  gone,  Jennie  kept  on  won- 
dering, when  she  was  not  thinking  of  other  matters, 
for  an  hour  or  two  or  three.  And  then  again  she  was 
ushered  across  the  Bridge  of  Sighs,  and  again  into  the 
office  of  the  District  Attorney.  She  was  much  of  an 
automaton  —  worn,  sick  with  herself,  broken  with 
grief,  bewildered  with  events  —  moving  chiefly  because 
she  was  ordered  or  some  one  led  her;  not  till  later 
were  her  senses  to  understand  and  appreciate  the  full 
significance  of  the  happenings  of  that  day. 

Uncle  George  was  in  the  District  Attorney's  office, 
and  so  was  Officer  Casey,  and  so  was  a  bald,  efficient- 
looking  gentleman  to  whom  she  was  introduced  as  her 
attorney,  Mr.  Aaronson.  She  was  given  a  chair  at  the 
corner  of  the  District  Attorney's  desk. 

"I  suppose  you  have  heard  of  the  deaths  of  your 
husband  and  of  Jackson  Holt?"  inquired  the  District 
Attorney. 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  I  have  here  an  original  document,  part  in  the  hand- 
WTiting  of  each,  and  part  signed  by  each,  which  it  is  your 
privilege  to  read  and  which  I  request  you  to  read." 

Jennie  took  the  heavy  sheet  of  the  Myra  stationery, 
and  read  those  confessions  that  out  in  the  cabin  of  the 
rain-pelted  yacht  had  been  written  under  the  compul- 
sion of  Black  Jerry's  pistol,  confessions  which  were  now 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  447 

to  stand  forever  as  the  unchallenged  truth.  Having 
read  them,  she  looked  up  in  bewilderment. 

"Why  did  you  never  declare  that  in  this  Harrison 
forgery  business  you  were  acting  upon  the  dictation 
and  only  as  the  instrument  of  your  husband?"  de- 
manded the  District  Attorney. 

She  replied  mechanically.  "What  with  my  old  record, 
and  with  my  husband  and  his  father  charging  me  with 
it  and  denying  any  connection  with  the  matter,  no  one 
would  have  believed  me.  What  would  have  been  the 
use?" 

Her  answer  obviously  seemed  convincing  to  the  Dis- 
trict Attorney.  He  took  the  document  from  her. 

"That  reference  to  the  police  closing  in  on  them, 
which  was  the  motive  for  their  self-destruction,  is  some- 
thing which  Officer  Casey  here  seems  thoroughly  to 
understand,"  he  continued.  "Mr.  Harrison  has  been 
here  to-day,  and  when  shown  this  statement  he  fully 
corroborated  his  son  —  I  may  say  that  he  even  went 
farther.  I  must  go  through  certain  legal  formalities, 
Mrs.  Harrison,  which  may  necessitate  your  later  ap- 
pearance in  court ;  but  as  a  result  of  these  developments 
I  can  say  that  probably  neither  that  old  charge  against 
you  nor  the  present  more  serious  one  will  ever  come  to 
trial.  I  have,  therefore,  arranged  to  have  you  granted 
your  liberty  in  the  custody  of  your  counsel.  That  is  all." 

Dazedly  Jennie  allowed  herself  to  be  led  out,  in- 
stinctively letting  down  the  veil  which  had  been  part 
of  the  garb  in  which  she  had  come  to  prison. 

"I  knew  you  were  going  to  get  free  on  some  basis," 
exulted  Uncle  George.  "So  I  Ve  got  a  car  waiting  down 
in  Franklin  Street.  Come  on." 

"Just  a  minute."  It  was  Casey  who  spoke.  The  heavy 


448  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

face  of  the  plain-clothes  man  was  kindly,  and  he  was 
holding  out  a  big  hand.  "  I  'm  mighty  glad  things  have 
broke  right  for  you,  Jennie.  Here's  wishing  you  the 
best  of  luck!" 

"Thank  you,  Mr.  Casey,"  and  Jennie  gripped  his  hand. 

Immediately  she  was  surrounded  by  a  clamorous 
group  of  young  and  middle-aged  men.  "They're  re- 
porters —  the  District  Attorney  gave  out  that  con- 
fession to  'em  before  you  saw  it,"  Uncle  George  ex- 
plained. And  then  to  them:  "See  here,  boys,  she's 
tired  almost  to  death.  Just  remember  what  she's  been 
through.  Besides,  the  District  Attorney's  got  all  the 
dope  —  and,  besides,  you  boys  all  know  that  your  best 
stories  are  the  ones  you  fake.  So  be  good  sports,  and 
let  her  off  this  time." 

They  made  way  for  her.  But  a  part  of  the  group, 
armed  with  black  boxes,  followed  the  pair,  and  as  they 
stepped  out  into  Franklin  Street  a  representative  of 
the  group  halted  Uncle  George  and  spoke  beseechingly. 
Uncle  George  turned  to  Jennie. 

"They're  camera-men.  Next  to  the  war  this  is  the 
biggest  story  since  —  well,  God  knows  since  when.  And 
these  boys  say  they  have  n't  got  any  decent  pictures  of 
you  to  print.  You're  clear,  and  a  picture  isn't  going 
to  hurt  you  now  —  so  let  'em  snap  you." 

So  Jennie  lifted  her  veil  and  stood  against  the  red 
brick  of  the  Criminal  Courts  Building,  while  the  camera- 
men huddled  each  other  about  and  peered  down  into  the 
queer  hoods  of  their  black  boxes  and  clicked  shutters 
upon  the  first  picture  to  be  made  of  her  since  she  had 
been  a  child. 

"And  now  for  home,"  said  Uncle  George,  when  the 
men  were  through.  " I'm  taking  you  to  my  apartment 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  449 

—  that's  going  to  be  your  home  after  this.  Here's  our 
car." 

Jennie  noted  that  the  car  was  the  same  limousine 
which  had  brought  her  here  —  only  now  the  curtains 
were  closely  drawn  —  and  that  the  same  "Jack"  was 
at  the  wheel.  "Step  right  in,"  said  Uncle  George  at  her 
elbow,  opening  the  door.  She  obeyed.  The  door  closed 
sharply,  she  sank  back  into  the  seat,  and  the  car  moved 
away. 

The  machine  had  swung  around  into  Lafayette  Street 
before  she  realized  that  Uncle  George  had  not  entered 
the  car  with  her.  She  looked  about  her.  There  in  the 
dimness  sat  Harry  Edwards. 

"Jennie!"  he  whispered.  "Jennie!"  And  then: 
"You  're  free?  Uncle  George  said  he  was  sure  you  would 
be." 

She  nodded. 

"Jennie!"  he  said  again.  "Jennie!"  His  eyes  clung 
to  her  face  and  hers  held  to  him.  One  of  his  hands  stole 
out  and  clutched  hers,  and  automatically  her  fingers 
tightened  upon  and  clung  to  it.  Tears  came  into  his 
eyes,  and  her  own  flowed  tears,  but  for  several  blocks 
they  did  not  speak.  There  was  too  much  to  be  spoken 
of;  even  the  great  facts  that  the  same  day  had  made 
Jennie  both  widow  and  orphan  were  merged  in  this 
unutterable  whole. 

Her  eyes,  unwaveringly  fixed  upon  his  unwavering 
eyes,  could  no  more  hide  her  soul  than  could  a  child's. 
His  lips  parted.  "Jennie!"  he  breathed  again,  and 
daringly,  tenderly,  he  took  her  into  his  arms.  She  re- 
laxed against  him.  She  was  dazed  and  shattered  with 
grief  —  but  through  grief  and  daze  she  had  a  sense  that 
her  heart,  after  far  wanderings,  had  at  last  come  home. 


CHAPTER  XLII       % 

JERRY— AND  JERRY 

LIFE  histories  do  not  end  at  some  definite  point, 
before  which  there  was  everything,  and  after 
which  there  is  nothing.  They  reach  forward 
through  the  years,  and  through  conditions  which  may- 
help  twist  or  help  gloriously  develop  a  history's  char- 
acter. For  Life  goes  on  —  forever  on. 

But  since  the  fragments  of  human  history  we  may 
choose  to  write  must  close  somewhere,  this  history  of 
Jennie  Malone,  and  of  her  father,  and  of  the  three  men 
who  loved  her,  and  of  the  persons  who  vitally  influenced 
her  ambition  and  the  unfolding  of  her  soul  —  this  his- 
tory may  be  closed,  perhaps  somewhat  arbitrarily, 
upon  a  certain  quiet  afternoon  in  January,  1917,  a  year 
and  a  half  after  Jennie  had  ridden  away  from  the  Tombs. 
And  it  may  be  closed  in  the  apartment  of  Uncle  George, 
which  had  been  her  home  since  the  day  of  her  discharge : 
and  more  especially  her  home  since  her  marriage  to 
Harry  Edwards,  when  Uncle  George  had  moved  out, 
and,  as  compensation  for  his  self-imposed  dispossession, 
had  become  a  regular  late  afternoon  visitor  upon  those 
who  were  now  dearest  to  him. 

Mrs.  Harrison  and  Sue  (who  had  been  Mrs.  William 
Grayson  these  last  six  months)  were  just  leaving.  Sue 
was  bloomingly  happy,  for  youth  quickly  recovers,  and 
besides,  she  now  had  her  own  personal  life.  Mrs.  Harri- 
son was  rather  more  grave  than  in  other  years,  but 
was  not  the  less  kindly.  The  death  of  Kenneth,  and  the 
shame  which  had  followed  his  death,  had  almost  broken 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  451 

her;  and  she  had  suffered  when  her  husband's  business 
ambitions  had  collapsed  after  the  conviction  of  Sam 
Conway;  but  she  still  was  generously  and  graciously 
and  whole-heartedly  thoughtful  of  others — as  she  would 
ever  be  until  the  end. 

They  had  already  enthused  and  marveled  over  Jen- 
nie's baby,  and  there  now  remained  only  the  moment  of 
parting  at  the  door.  Sue  had  kissed  Jennie,  had  en- 
gaged to  see  her  the  following  Friday  —  they  saw  each 
other  every  few  days  —  when  Mrs.  Harrison  took  Jen- 
nie's hands  and  gazed  steadfastly  down  into  Jennie's  face 
with  her  soft  blue  eyes  which  were  now  glistening  with 
tears. 

"Jennie,  I'm  so  glad  that  you  are  happy!"  said  the 
low-pitched  voice.  "Do  you  remember  what  I  once 
said  to  you  in  the  rose  garden  out  at  Silver  Bluffs  long 
ago?  —  that  you  had  strength  and  character  —  that 
you  were  going  to  grow  up  into  a  splendid  woman  — 
that  you  were  going  to  be  a  helpful  influence  to  those 
whose  fortune  it  might  be  to  touch  your  life.  I  had  no 
dream  of  what  was  going  to  happen,  but  I  was  right, 
Jennie!  It  has  all  come  true!" 

"Oh,  Mrs.  Harrison  —  please!"  was  all  Jennie  could 
say. 

"  Mother  's  right,"  declared  Sue  stoutly.  "  I  Ve  heard 
Billy  say  how  splendidly  Harry  is  doing  with  his  new 
firm  —  and  I  just  simply  know  it's  because  of  you!" 

Jennie's  attempted  protest  was  muffled  and  cut  short 
by  farewell  kisses.  After  the  mother  and  daughter  had 
left,  Jennie  stood  in  thought  a  moment.  Out  of  the 
wreckage  of  what  she  had  once  considered  her  great 
world,  she  had  salvaged  these  two.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ship- 
man  had  gone  out  of  her  life;  perhaps  because  she  had 


452         t     A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

permitted  them  to  —  she  had  made  no  overture  to 
them  since  the  day  her  brilliant  world  had  crashed  in 
fragments  about  her;  and  all  the  other  great  acquaint- 
ances had  also  gone.  But  these  two  were  loyal,  generous, 
loving  friends  —  and  she  knew  they  would  be  such 
always. 

She  crossed  softly  to  a  white  bassinet,  and  taking  a 
chair,  gazed  down  upon  the  tiny  yet  sturdy  figure  which 
slept  therein.  Her  face  glowed.  Could  any  have  looked 
upon  her  who  had  known  her  in  her  days  of  shrewd 
planning  and  brilliant  success,  they  would  have  been 
struck  by  what  a  different  Jennie  she  now  was.  Time, 
experience,  suffering,  sorrow,  loving,  being  loved,  had 
made  her  see  and  value  the  realities  of  life  as  compared 
with  its  glitter  and  its  falsities  —  had  awakened  her  soul 
to  knowledge  of  itself,  and  had  helped  her  soul  come  into 
its  own.  The  brilliant  future  in  a  brilliant  world,  which 
she  had  once  dreamed  of,  was  now  never  to  be.  But  an 
even  better  dream,  though  she  had  never  dreamed  it, 
was  coming  true.  She  was  still  very  young  —  she  still 
had  far  to  go  before  she  attained  the  fullness  of  what 
she  was  to  be;  but  her  face,  softened,  a  trifle  fuller,  and 
much  more  truly  beautiful  than  in  other  days  when 
many  men  had  loved  her  and  had  so  differently  striven 
for  her,  was  rich  with  promises  for  the  future. 

She  was  still  gazing  down  at  the  tiny  face  when  Harry 
let  himself  in  with  his  latch-key.  The  next  instant  she 
was  on  her  feet  and  in  his  arms.  A  new  manliness  had 
been  developed  in  him  by  love  and  work  and  responsi- 
bility —  a  manliness  composed  of  self-confidence  and 
what  we  sometimes  term  solidity  of  character.  Perhaps 
Harry  would  never  be  a  great  man  in  a  worldly  sense ; 
but  that  loyalty  which  had  distinguished  his  early  years, 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  453 

and  which  so  nearly  had  brought  a  fatal  consequence, 
was  still  a  conspicuous  quality  in  his  maturer  face.  Yes, 
he  would  be  always  loyal.  He  would  be  a  real  man. 

The  baby  awakened  —  first  with  a  cry  —  then  with 
a  healthy,  satisfied  stretching  of  tiny  arms.  Jennie 
lifted  him  out  of  the  bassinet.  This  hour,  from  five  to 
six,  she  considered  her  most  precious  period  with  him, 
for  this  was  the  one  hour  of  the  twenty-four  when  he 
was  healthily  and  happily  awake,  and  when  Harry  was 
at  home  to  see  him  at  his  best. 

They  talked  at  him  the  usual  nonsense  of  young  par- 
ents, now  and  then  evoking  a  germinal  smile  on  the  soft 
pink  face.  But  that  smile,  flitting  as  it  was,  was  enough 
to  call  forth  exclamations  of  ravished  amazement.  There 
never  had  been  such  a  baby  —  there  really  never 
had! 

"He's  a  wonder,  all  right,  Jerry  is!"  enthused  Harry. 
"And  you  can  bet  he 's  going  to  have  every  chance  in  the 
world!" 

He  certainly  was,  agreed  Jennie. 

"I  say,  Jennie,  Jerry  looks  an  awful  lot  like  you  to- 
night." 

"No,  I  think  he  takes  a  lot  more  after  you!"  Jennie 
protested. 

Harry  shook  his  head.  "No,  like  you."  He  looked 
from  the  baby  up  to  her  and  then  back  at  the  baby  — 
and  meditated.  "He's  going  to  have  black  hair  and 
a  rather  dark  skin."  His  voice  softened  a  little.  "Jennie, 
I  have  an  idea  that  he  may  not  look  very  much  like  either 
of  us;  that  he  may  look  a  lot  more  like  Black  Jerry  — 
your  father,  I  mean." 

"Like  —  like  dad!"  she  breathed. 

He  did  not  quite  understand  what  was  rising  in  her 


454  *A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

mind,  for  he  went  on  stoutly:  "It'll  be  a  fine  thing 
if  he  does  look  like  your  father.  Black  Jerry  was  all 
right!  He'd  have  been  a  wonder  if  he  had  ever  had 
the  chance  we  are  going  to  give  our  Jerry!" 

She  did  not  answer.  Soft  tears  filled  her  eyes.  For 
the  moment  her  mind  was  filled  with  her  father;  her 
heart  throbbed  with  a  tender,  poignant  ache.  How  her 
dad  had  loved  her !  —  even  to  the  point  where  he  had 
believed  that  his  mere  existence  would  be  a  millstone 
around  the  neck  of  her  future,  and  so  to  insure  her  hap- 
piness had  made  away  with  himself !  .  .  . 

She  had  grieved  deeply  during  the  year  and  a  half 
that  had  passed  since  she  had  received  Jerry's  scrawl 
announcing  his  purpose  of  passing  out  of  her  life,  and 
out  of  all  life,  in  order  that  she  might  no  longer  be 
shamed  and  held  down  by  his  notoriety.  But  youth, 
through  its  excess  of  vitality,  always  recovers  from  its 
non-mortal  wounds  when  there  is  something  to  live  for. 
Jerry's  death  was  a  fact  —  Jennie  was  now  accustomed 
to  it  —  it  would  always  remain  a  grief  of  her  life ;  but 
time  was  softening  that  grief  to  a  tender  memory. 

There  was  a  ring  of  the  apartment  bell,  which  was 
answered  by  the  maid,  and  after  a  moment  Uncle 
George  came  in.  Time  had  made  little  change  in  him. 
For  many  years  he  had  looked  a  spruce,  oldish  man, 
and  he  would  doubtless  look  exactly  the  same  until  his 
last  day. 

Uncle  George  was  called  upon  to  admire  young  Jerry, 
which  he  did  for  several  minutes  with  very  real  enthu- 
siasm. Then  Jennie  recalled  something. 

"By  the  way,  Uncle  George,  there  was  a  man  —  some 
kind  of  a  soldier  —  here  to  see  you  a  while  ago.  He  said 
he  had  a  message  for  you." 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  455 

"Did  he  leave  it?" 

"  No.  He  said  his  orders  were  to  deliver  it  personally 
into  your  hands.  I  told  him  you'd  be  here  about  this 
time,  and  he  said  he'd  come  back." 

"Speaking  of  soldiers,  Uncle  George,"  said  Harry, 
"what  do  you  think  of  to-day's  news  about  our  relations 
with  Germany?  Do  you  think  we're  going  to  get  pulled 
into  the  big  fight?" 

"Sure  as  fate,  Harry  —  and  soon." 

"Well,  if  it  comes  to  that"  —  Harry  gave  a  wistful 
look  at  Jennie  —  "  I  'd  like  to  be  over  there  in  France, 
mixing  it  up  with  the  rest  of  them." 

Uncle  George  spoke  before  Jennie  had  a  chance  to 
reply.  "Your  spirit's  all  right,  son,  but  you'll  never 
have  a  chance  to  get  over." 

"Why  not?"  demanded  Harry. 

Uncle  George  was  wise  in  other  matters  than  the  gay 
life  of  hotels  and  restaurants  with  which  most  of  his 
acquaintances  identified  him.  "Because,  son,  if  we  get 
into  this  war,  we're  going  to  need  fighters  at  the  front, 
and  fighters  right  here  at  home  making  things  to  fight 
with.  The  Government  is  never  going  to  let  such  an 
expert  engineer  and  manager  as  you  are  growing  to  be 
get  into  a  lieutenant's  uniform,  when  you'll  count  for 
ten  times  as  much  in  the  big  fight  by  staying  right  here 
helping  manage  about  fifty-seven  thousand  varieties  of 
things  that  we'll  be  doing  all  at  once.  That's  all  there 
is  to  it,  son;  so  let's  change  the  subject  and  talk  about 
the  baby." 

They  did  —  until  the  apartment  bell  rang  once  more. 
The  person  shown  in  was  a  man  with  a  slight  limp,  in 
the  uniform  of  a  sergeant  of  the  Canadian  Expeditionary 
Force. 


456  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

"Oh,  Uncle  George,"  said  Jennie,  "this  is  the  soldier 
who  wanted  to  see  you." 

The  sergeant  bowed  to  Jennie,  and  then  turned  to 
Uncle  George.  "Is  this  Mr.  George  Hamilton?"* 

"Yes,"  said  Uncle  George. 

"I  have  a  letter  for  you  —  but,  pardon  me,  what 
I  Ve  got  to  say  is  private." 

"Stay  right  where  you  are,  Uncle  George,"  put  in 
Jennie.  "Harry  and  the  baby  and  I  haven't  had  our 
evening  look  out  at  Central  Park.  If  you  talk  low,  we 
won't  be  able  to  hear  a  word." 

When  Jennie,  with  tiny  Jerry  in  her  arms,  and  Harry 
were  at  the  windows  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  room, 
the  sergeant  spoke  in  a  carefully  subdued  voice. 

"I'm  invalided  home,  but  expect  to  get  back  to  the 
front,"  he  explained  briefly.  "In  the  hospital  over  there 
where  I  was  laid  up  with  this  leg,  I  got  to  know  the  man 
in  the  bed  next  to  mine.  We  got  to  be  —  you  know  — 
buddies.  When  he  learned  I  was  to  be  sent  back,  he  asked 
me  to  carry  a  letter  to  you.  He  said  he  would  n't  send 
it  by  mail;  was  afraid  of  the  censors;  said  I  was  his 
chance  to  get  it  past  the  censors." 

The  sergeant  loosened  a  button  of  his  tunic,  pulled 
forth  an  envelope  which  he  handed  to  Uncle  George, 
and  bowed  himself  out.  Uncle  George  drew  an  easy- 
chair  up  before  the  coal  fire  which  glowed  in  the  grate 
and  examined  the  envelope.  It  was  soiled  and  greasy 
by  being  long  carried  close  to  the  human  body ;  George's 
name  and  the  address  on  Central  Park  West  were 
printed.  Curiously  Uncle  George  tore  open  the  worn 
envelope  and  unfolded  the  letter.  There  was  neither 
address  nor  signature,  but  Uncle  George  experienced 
one  of  the  moments  of  greatest  amazement  of  all  his  life. 


A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds  457 

The  cramped,  unaccustomed  handwriting  was  unmis- 
takably that  of  Black  Jerry. 
The  letter  read : 

Don't  tell  any  one  about  me. 

I  'm  writing  this  letter  because  I  want  to  ask  you  to  stand 
by  Jennie  and  see  she  gets  a  square  deal. 

I  seen  at  last  that  me  and  my  bad  name  were  too  much  of 
a  handicap  for  any  kid  to  carry  and  have  a  fair  chance  in  the 
running.  I  'd  tried  the  other  thing,  and  I  seen  there  was 
nothing  to  it.  I  seen  that  the  only  way  for  Jennie  to  have  a 
fair  chance  was  for  me  to  pass  out  of  her  life  forever.  You 
know  —  pass  out  so  she  'd  think  I  was  finished  and  everybody 
else  would  think  I  was  finished,  and  so  I  could  n't  ever  drag 
her  down  again. 

No  use  telling  you  what  I  did  first  —  but  I  made  a  freighter 
that  was  just  shipping  for  Rio,  and  they  put  me  down  below 
shoveling  coal.  From  Rio  I  came  to  Bordeaux.  I  dyed  my 
hair,  joined  up  with  the  Foreign  Legion,  and  for  eleven  months 
off  and  on  I  been  out  there  in  the  trenches.  I  been  in  this 
hospital  two  months  with  a  shrapnel  wound,  but  I  'm  just 
about  O.K.  By  the  time  you  get  this,  I'll  be  back  there 
in  the  trenches  again.  No  use  trying  to  locate  me,  for  I  'm 
wearing  another  name. 

It 's  a  safe  bet  that  I  never  come  out  of  that  jam  alive.  But 
if  I  do,  mebbe  I'll  come  back  from  that  hell  there  at  the 
front  with  a  name  that  won't  hurt  Jennie  such  a  lot  —  and  if 
that  happens,  then  I  may  show  up  again.  A  few  guys  over 
here  are  doing  things  what  makes  people  forget  what  they  done 
before.  But  it's  a  long  shot,  and  don't  you  place  any  bet  on 
that. 

I  'm  writing  this  letter  to  ask  you  to  stand  by  Jennie. 

Don't  you  tell  her,  or  any  one  else. 

You  burn  this  letter. 

Uncle  George,  sunk  down  on  his  chair,  gazed  at  the 
letter  for  a  long  space.  Then,  breathing  deeply,  as  one 
coming  out  of  a  dazing  dream,  he  gazed  hesitantly- 


458  A  Daughter  of  Two  Worlds 

wonderingly,  at  the  pair  standing  at  the  window  with 
the  baby.  Presently  they  turned,  and  seeing  that  he  ap- 
parently had  finished  his  letter,  they  crossed  to  his  side. 
"You    look    strange,    Uncle    George,"    Jennie    said 
anxiously.   "What's  the  matter?" 
"Nothing,  my  dear.   Nothing  at  all." 
"Any  news  in  the  letter  that  soldier  brought?" 
His  eyes  slipped  down  to  the  letter  which  he  had  half- 
crumpled  on  their  approach,  and  they  rested  upon  the 
two  last  sentences.    "Don't  tell  her.    You  burn  this 
letter."  He  wavered ;  there  was  an  instant  of  dizzy  inde- 
cision. Then  his  instinctive  loyalty  to  a  friend  and  that 
friend's  wishes  dominated  him. 

"  Nothing  in  the  letter  at  all,  my  dear,"  he  said  calmly. 
Almost  with  an  air  of  indifference  he  tore  the  letter  up 
and  leaning  forward  dropped  the  fragments  into  the  fire. 
They  leaped  into  flames,  and  the  next  instant  the  letter 
from  Black  Jerry  was  merely  a  few  leaves  of  black  ash. 
Jennie  slipped  down  upon  the  arm  of  Uncle  George's 
chair,  Harry's  arm  about  her  shoulders.  "Then  if 
there 's  nothing  important  in  your  letter,  Uncle  George," 
she  cried  happily,  holding  out  her  baby,  "just  take  a 
look  at  something  that  is  important  —  Jerry !  Don't 
you  think  Jerry  is  really  a  great  little  man?" 

Uncle  George  looked  down  at  the  pink  face  for  a 
moment  —  looked  beyond  it.  Then  he  answered  in  a  low, 
hushed  voice  —  rather  solemnly  —  almost  reverently : 
"Yes  —  I  think  Jerry  is  really  a  great  man." 
And  Jennie,  radiant  at  the  praise,  held  her  baby 
closely  to  her  and  joyously  kissed  him  again. 


THE  END 


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By  Wilfred  Usher 
The  Uncanny  House 

By  Mary  L.  Pendered 
The  Secret  of  Sheen 

By  John  Laurence 
Shadows 
y  Camilla  Hope 
By  Foul  Means 

By  Patrick  Leyton 
The   Phantom   Rickshaw 

By  Rudyard  Kipling 
Dreamy  Hollow 

By  Summer  C.  Britton 
The  Diamond  Cross  Mystery 

By   Chester  K.   Steele 
The  Mansion  of  Mystery 

By  Chester  K.  Steele 
The    Mosaic    Earring 

By  Nell  Martin 
The  Golf  Course  Mystery 

By  Chester  K.  Steele 
The  Million  Dollar  Suitcase 

By  MacGowaa  and  Newbury 
City  of  the  Dreadful  Night 

By  Rudyard  Kipling 
The  Murders  in  the  Rue  Morgue 

By  Edgar  Allen  Poe 
The  Golden   Bowl 

By  Archie  Joscelyn 
The  Monk  of  H  amble  ton 

By  Armstrong  Livingston 

HISTORY 
In  the  Old  West 

By  Geo.  Fred  Ruxton 
The  Gold  Hunters 

By  J.  D.  Borthwick 

WESTERN 
Don  Coyote 

By   Whitman   Chambers 

BIOGRAPHY 
Face  to  Face  with  Our  Presidents 

By  Joe  Mitchell  Chappie 

ROMANCE 
The  Girl  He  Left  Behind 

By  Helen  Beecher  Long 
Sins  of  the  Children 

By  Cosmo  Hamilton 


Bed  Rock 

By  Jack  Bethea 
Doubloons  and  The  Girl 

By  John  Maxwell  Forbes 
Quadrille  Court 

By  Cecil  Adair 
The  Lovely  Malincourt 

By  Helen  Mathers 
Sem's  Moroccan  Love 

By  Arthur  Kay 
The  Justice  of  the  King 

By  Hamilton  Drummond 
The  Star  of  Hollywood 

By    Edward   Stilgebauer 
Some  Honeymoon 

By  Charles  Everett  Hall 
Children   of   the   Whirlwind 

By  Leroy  Scott 
Who  Cares 

By  Cosmo  Hamilton 
The  Man  Who  Lived  in  a  Shoe 

By  Henry  James  Forman 
The   Enchanted   Garden 

By  Henry  James  Forman 
Cap'n  Abe  Storekeeper 

By  James  A.  Cooper 
Unforbidden  Fruit 

By  Warner  Fabian 
Mary  Regan 

By  Leroy  Scott 
The  Blindness  of  Virtue 

By  Cosmo  Hamilton 
Dancing  Desire 

By  Petronilla  Clayton 
Why  Marry 

By  Farguson  Johnson 

ADVENTURE 
Letters   of  Marque 

By   Rudyard  Kipling 
Under  the  Deodars 

By  Rudyard  Kipling 
On  Autumn  Trails 

By  Emma-Lindsay  Squier 
Soldiers  Three 

By  Rudyard  Kipling 
Tales  of  the  Fish  Patrol 

By  Jack  London 
When  God  Laughs 

By  Jack  London 
On  the  Highest  Hill 

By  H.  M.  StephensoB 
South  Sea  Tales 

By  Jack  London 
Wilbur   Crane's  Handicap 

By  John  Maxwell  Forbes 
The  Light  That  Failed 

By  Rudyard  Kipling 
Rainbow  Island 

By  Mark  Caywood 


INTERNATIONAL  FICTION  LIBRARY 


Chicago 


New  York 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


fit  SEP  29 1875 

APR  16 1976 


Form  L9-Series  444 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     000036620     3 


